Behind these Constant Shadows
by AneleTiger
Summary: Zuko is alone. With no one to turn to and nowhere to run, he struggles to find himself. Until he meets and odd, blue eyed girl who might just have the key to lock away the shadows haunting them both.
1. Prologue

A/N: This is a story idea that continues where the episode _Zuko Alone_ (what a great episode) ended. The prologue is my take on Zuko´s and Iroh´s parting. I know; it is very different from what it really is, but bear with me. The first chapter will follow shortly. Please read and review!

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Prologue

The setting sun bathed the world in an eerie crimson red. Two shadows stood, their features blurred into darkness by the brightness of the background. The leaner shadow spoke, the young man's voice quiet and hesitant.

"Uncle, I must find my own path."

The heavier set man sighed softly, "I know, Zuko."

The young man stood still, waiting for the rest of the words.

"Remember, though, that in the darkest of times, hope is something you give yourself. That is the meaning of inner strength," the older man murmured wisely.

The sun burned the horizon as the young man looked back one last time at the kind old man before tearing his gaze away.

The uncle did not hear the young man's next words as he whispered them inaudibly into the fleeting wind.

"Thank you."

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AneleTiger.


	2. Desert of Memories

A/N: Here is the first chapter of the story. And trust me, this one is a lot longer than the small prologue. Just a little note to readers: I am going on vacation and won´t have internet connection until mid August, so I won´t update the next chapters until then. I´ll have plenty of time to write though, so when I do come back, expect some chapters. Now, enjoy the chapter and please review!

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Chapter I: Desert of Memories

The harsh sun rained down upon the dry earth in waves of desert heat. The exiled Prince of the Fire Nation breathed heavily under the shade of his straw hat, fighting the glare of the punishing sun. The desert was silent around him, with only the slight whistle of the non-existent wind. The young man's mount shuddered violently in hunger, its steps slow and labored upon the cracked yellow earth. Zuko shut his eyes, trying to will away his thirst and gnawing hunger, trying to forget. But he couldn't forget. Every time he shut his eyes he would see their faces, see their disappointed faces staring at him. The pounding of the earth under him sang a lullaby and the yellow of the parched earth swirled around him meshing into a mosaic of bright sun.

_The long black haired woman gazed lovingly at her son from her seat on a marble stone bench. The peaceful garden was lined with blooming cherry trees, their soft pastel colors blending with the budding green of the delicate grass. The young boy ran in the center of the grass clearing, kicking bursts of fire into the calm morning air. With a look of determination, the black haired boy cartwheeled cleanly into the air and released two neat arcs of fire from his fingers before landing solidly on his feet. The willowy woman clapped enthusiastically from her bench, laughing with joy. Her son shyly glanced up at her, a small smile of happiness forming on his face. The mother gazed adoringly at him, before something caught her eye behind the boy. Quickly standing, the woman called the boy to her, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder and leading him towards an approaching man. The lady's long black hair shifted forward as she bowed her head in respect._

"_My lord, will you not join me and watch your son practice? He is improving significantly," she added at the end, looking down fondly at her son._

_The man said nothing, not even glancing at the dark haired boy as he sat stiffly beside his wife. The woman gave her son an encouraging smile and the boy smiled hesitantly in return. He wiped his sweaty hands on his loose black pants and placed his feet in position. His father shifted impatiently on the bench. The boy sidestepped and began. The beginning was hesitant, the fire not as bright as before. Then his feet crossed as he heard his father yawn and he fell. Quickly he rose and nervously kicked three fireballs in procession. In a flurry of limbs he threw himself into the air. The young boy rose too quickly and had miscalculated his weight distribution. The ground quivered as he fell painfully to the sprouting green grass. A still silence reigned as the lord stood, and after staring at the panting boy sprawled on the ground turned to the black haired woman._

"This_ is what you wanted me to see?" the man hissed, pointing at the boy._

_The woman flinched, but said nothing._

"_He is an embarrassment to our family. Take him inside before someone should see him."_

"Hey! Watch where you are going!" cried out an annoyed voice.

Zuko shook himself out of his daze and slowly raised his head. He must have fallen asleep while riding, for he didn't remember seeing a crossroad. All he remembered was the great expanse of yellow earth and scorching bright sun. His mount had collided with another mount at the crossroad. It isn't even a crossroad, he thought bitterly, just a slight change in earth color.

"Are you alright?" this time the voice was concerned.

Zuko looked up at the young woman directly in front of him.

"Are you dehydrated? It is very dry. I have some water. If you ran out, you can have some if you like," the girl continued.

Zuko felt anger stream through him. He hated being treated like he was weak, like if had to rely on others.

"I don't need your help," the young Prince uttered darkly.

The young woman continued to look at him for a moment and then descended fluidly from her mount, landing in a small cloud of dust. She rummaged carefully through her belongings in the pouches that hung off the side of the animal and produced a large water skin. Her steps sent up more clouds of dust as she approached Zuko. Once she was at his side she held up the water skin.

'Drink, it is dangerous to get dehydrated in such a place, especially since I can't see a town in the horizon," the girl ordered, her voice calm.

Zuko tightened his hands on the reigns of his mount, infuriated by the nerve of this girl. He couldn't comprehend why she would care if he drank or not.

"I said: I don't need your help," Zuko repeated once more.

The girl shrugged nonchalantly, "Just drink, okay? Think of it as doing me a favor."

Zuko's expression did not change, "I do not do favors."

"That's fine, but I warned you."

Then, without a change in expression except for a small, undetectable grin, the girl unbuttoned the water skin and promptly sprayed Zuko with all of the cold liquid.

He didn't know what to do. He just stood there, blinking stupidly, soaked through his black shirt. He had not expected that. Various solutions ran through his mind: he could burn her to a crisp and release his humiliation of what she had done to him, he could use his broadswords, or he could just accept the water she had given him. He already felt his senses returning and acknowledged that he had been very close to collapsing. Resigned, he accepted the water, and inside felt grateful that she had given it to him. The girl had already sat herself up on her mount. Zuko took this time to fully look at her for the first time. She was tall, but shorter than he was, and about his age. Her wavy brown hair was done in a set of elaborate braids at the back of her head, with loose strands of hair fighting the confinement. When she turned to look at him, he noticed that her eyes were a startling blue.

"Where are you headed to?" she asked, cocking her head lightly to one side as she waited for a response.

Zuko immediately felt defensive: he didn't know this girl, and there was no evidence to disprove that she was not another of his sister's spies, wanting to draw him towards certain death. He glared at her coldly through his golden eyes and kicked his mount forward, not bothering to answer.

The girl chose to go the same way he had gone. With such a great expanse of barren desert, the blue-eyed girl had chosen to lead her mount beside him. He could have broken off and rode away in another direction, but if this girl was in Azula's service, then Zuko could not arose her suspicion; she would most likely be an accomplished firebender and he could not fight her in his weakened state. Silence descended upon them. The overbearing sun washed the desert in heat and Zuko felt his skin get dry once more, the water the girl had poured on him dissipating into the arid air.

_The young boy ran down the hall, his shoed feet clattering on the black stone. His amber eyes shone in delight as he ran faster around a corner. Finally the hall gave away to a large atrium, the ceiling rising into the sky. Scurrying across the large expanse, the boy dove behind the large statue of a majestic man, the red stone shaped into fire. The red atrium was silent. Only a joyful laugh echoing off the walls from behind the statue broke the still silence. The enormous wooden doors that stood as tall as five men were pushed open slowly to reveal a tired looking man, his grey sideburns cutting into his weary face. The doors shut solidly behind the man. There was a shuffle as the black haired boy scampered to his feet and rushed towards the man. _

"_Uncle! Uncle, you're back!" _

_The man turned around, and the sadness seemed to fade from his eyes as a small smile spread on his features._

"I hate silence," the girl commented, her eyes sharp as they sought out Zuko's.

Zuko shook away the painful memories away and turned to look at the girl. He hated silence too. Silence made one remember.

The girl analyzed Zuko thoughtfully before she asked, "What's your name?"

Zuko froze. And the shadows came rushing back to him, engulfing him in their unyielding embrace.

"_My name is Zuko! Son of Ursa and Fire Lord Ozai! Prince of the Fire Nation and heir to the throne!" the young man shouted, his voice strong and powerful in the sunset. _

_A silence followed his words, betrayal and horror laced into it. Then came the whispers, as the villagers who had just been cheering the young man looked upon him with unbridled hate. _

"_He is no heir!" an old man shouted angrily, "He has been exiled; he is an outcast, a failure!"_

Zuko looked up at the blue eyed girl, his expression unreadable, "…Azulo."

Zuko praised himself on his choice of name. It was perfect: if the girl was indeed in league with his sister than she would most likely notice that not only had he forsaken his name, but in favor a name only one letter different than Azula. His hands began to steam as he prepared himself for the quick attack. But it never came. Instead the girl smiled kindly.

"My name is Tienayu," she offered, brushing a stray strand of her brown hair back, out of her face.

Zuko looked at her suspiciously. Just because she had not attacked did not mean that she was not in Azula's service. She might even be cleverer than all the others Azula had sent before. It was impossible that she simply had not recognized him, the mark of his banishment was obvious to anyone who was Fire Nation born. His father had seen to that.

_The young man cried out in pain as he struggled to open his left eye, to see what had happened. But he couldn't, his eye would not open, would not obey his struggle. _

_An impious laugh echoed in the air, and the young man tensed as he recognized the voice._

"_Awww, poor little Zuzu," the voice taunted, void of compassion, "Does it hurt?"_

_The young man winced, his breathing ragged as he struggled to keep from drifting into unconsciousness. _

"_Go away, Azula," the injured teenager spit, his voice laced with pain._

_The girl hummed with joy at her brother's suffering, "Who's going to make me? You? You wouldn't even defend yourself in an Agni Kai, how can you even think of fighting me?"_

_The youth did not answer, but felt around aimlessly around him, trying to gather his bearing._

_Another cruel laugh split the air, "You should see yourself, Zuzu, the sad and pathetic sight you are. Just as pitiful as your dear Uncle. Now you both have something in common."_

_The young man stiffened visibly, and his voice was quiet when it came, "What do you mean, Azula?"_

"_You mean to tell me you do not know? Well, I'd love to tell you. You, my dearest brother, are banished, exiled. Father does not want to see you…ever again. You are a disgrace, a failure and everything you have ever done brings shame to our family."_

_The teenager's breathing was labored, and his expression fought the words that sliced into him. _

_The girl noticed this and her thin, red lips spread into a malicious smile, "You are no longer worth the title of Prince. Hence forth you are an outcast of the Fire Nation. Father hates you, and with that scar he has placed across your pitiable face he has marked you with the mark of the banished. This is no longer your home."_

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	3. What They Do Not See

_**A/N:** So I managed to find an internet connection, and, since I know that you would appreciate another chapter, I decided to post this. It is kind of short, but don't worry, they'll get longer. I have to say though, you could reivew a little more since I am making such an effort -it makes me feel very loved when I have more than two reviews for a chapter. I hope you like it, and please remember to review: reviews always inspire me to write more._

_**Disclaimer:** Neither _Avatar: the Last Airbender_ (or Avatar: the Legend of Aang, as they call it in Britain) nor any of the characters in it belong to me…sniff._

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Chapter II: What They Do Not See

The two travelers were burned by the harsh sun by the time Tienayu spotted the tell-a-tale lights of shelter in the distance.

"There! I knew there had to be a village somewhere in this desert," she commented, happy with her discovery.

Zuko glanced at her, noting the contentment that was spread on her tanned face. He then turned his glance to the lights in the distance. He couldn't say that he wasn't happy. Nighttime was approaching, and he did not want to spend the night in this unearthly desert. At day, the heat was intolerable, but then, at night, the temperatures dropped so low that Zuko had to raise his body temperature to great heights in order to keep himself warm.

"Do you want to race?" Tienayu suddenly spoke, her voice eager.

Zuko turned towards her slowly, an expression of disbelief on his face.

"What?" he uttered, his voice deadly soft.

Tienayu grinned, "A race! Starting at the next pebble, that one over there, we race all the way to the village: the first one there wins."

"I don't race."

The smile was wiped from the young woman's face. She opened her mouth to speak, and then thought better of it, slowly turning away. Zuko felt guilt taking over him. Who was he to cause her pain? He was not a Prince. In fact, he didn't know who he was. He was just an unknown phantom, a ghost. After he had lived out his deplorable life he would die. And no one would mourn him, the world wouldn't stop. He was just another nobody that had the luck to be born.

_The boy trembled as he stood before the richly dressed man, his golden eyes fixedly staring at the black marble in between his feet._

"_You are a pitiable excuse for a Prince," the man hissed, hate and disgust laced into his words._

_The boy flinched, and when his eyes opened again, they glistened lightly with unfallen tears._

"_Never before has a Fire Prince been so weak as to decline a fight," the man continued._

"_But…I…" the boy suddenly whispered, his hands balled into fists at his sides as he tried to force out the words._

_The Fire Lord stopped; still silence reigned before he spoke. "What was that?" his words cut through the thick air. _

_For the first time the boy looked up, his golden eyes determined as he spoke, his voice wavering only slightly. "Akio is one of my companions; I did not wish to see him hurt."_

_Electricity cracked audibly in the room as the Fire Lord boomed his answer. "If I had though you could fall no lower I was wrong. You show the weakness of a woman!"_

_The boy diverted his water filled eyes to the obsidian stone that lined the floor. His fists steamed in anger, but he made no move to show it._

"_Compassion will get you nowhere. You should thank your sister; she defended the family honor where you failed. She was born lucky. You, you were just lucky to be born. Akio will never be seen at court again."_

"Wait," Zuko called firmly.

Tienayu turned to look at him, her tanned face unreadable.

Zuko felt a smile creep into his voice, "Do you want to race?"

Tienayu's expression changed dramatically as her features broke into a grin.

"I'd love to," she responded before kicking her mount forward.

Zuko, not to be outdone, braced himself as his mount lurched forward, following the lead of its companion.

"_Uncle, _what_ are you doing?" the young man asked tersely from the deck of the ship, his amber eyes fixed on the heavy old man wading into the sparkling blue water of the cove._

_The old man looked up, his eyes crinkling on the corners as he smiled contently, "Have you ever ridden a giant elephant koi fish, nephew?"_

_The teenager blinked twice before answering, "No."_

_His uncle continued wading happily into the water, "The cook has, and he tells me that it is definitely a worthy experience."_

"_You are going to ride a giant _fish_ because the _cook_ told you to?" the youth clarified._

_The aged man sighed heavily from his place in the water, "One must not be constantly concerned with what others might think. To be a content and complete person one must be open to all suggestions, and most importantly, be humble enough to enjoy a simple glass of jasmine tea and ride a giant fish."_

_The youth seemed to think this over, the conflict apparent behind his eyes. Then, without making a noise, the young man disappeared towards his chambers._

Zuko halted his mount beside Tienayu's, the ostrich- horse struggling to regain its breath after the fast sprint. The blue eyed girl looked up at Zuko, a comfortable smile on her features.

"I won!" she said happily.

Zuko look at her, trying to see through her face. Her cobalt eyes looked contently back at him, no secrets or shadows apparent behind them. The banished prince turned away, towards the ground. He couldn't help to believe that she would be in league with his sister. It seemed as if everyone who was kind to him ended up hurting him. Like that Earth Kingdom boy, Lee. Zuko had only wanted to help him, but in the end, it did him no good. The boy had turned him away as soon as he had found out who he really was. No one truly liked Fire Prince Zuko. Then Zuko felt sadness overcome him; except two people. One was dead, and the other Zuko had left behind for their own safety.

"Azulo?" Tienayu's voice cut through his thoughts.

Without looking at her, Zuko slid off his mount onto the dust of the village's street. Taking the reins, he lead the ostrich-horse forward, his feet silent on the flat earth of the main street. Out of the corner of his eye, Zuko saw Tienayu copy him, and softly pet her mount as she led it forward beside him.

_The boy looked ahead of him, towards the roaring flames that strove to reach the sky. He knew that his mother was not the one lying on the bed of fire blooms. The Fire Lady was gone. He knew that she would never come back to him, that she was in a place where the living didn't walk, but it was not his mother that burned among the bright and beautiful roses. The boy carefully glanced to his left, and felt his heart ache as he caught his sister's jubilantly cold smile. His father's face was expressionless, but the boy knew that inside, his father had never loved his mother, and that he was the reason his mother was no longer here, the reason that a strange woman burned towards the sky in a cradle of fire blooms._

"I'm sorry, but I can't give you anything for just two coins," the large man explained, his face sympathetic.

Zuko felt his eyes close as he absorbed the truth: he was poor. Zuko, firstborn Prince of the powerful Fire Nation, had no means to honestly come by a piece of bread.

"Is there anything you can give me?" Zuko asked once more, his voice strained.

The large man shook his head, "I'm really sorry."

Zuko nodded his thanks shortly and left, leaving the large man to gaze after the young man with pity in his eyes.

"What did he say?" Tienayu asked, gently petting her ostrich-horse.

Zuko didn't answer; instead he sat down on the hot earth and gazed off towards the infinite distance of the desert around the village.

"Oh." The young woman concluded.

Zuko looked up at her, his golden eyes waiting for the rest of her answer. Tienayu's face twisted slightly in thought as she looked back at him, her blue eyes unseeing. The Fire Prince didn't shift his glance, feeling her struggle on whether or not she should tell him something. Finally she opened her mouth and pointed at the pocket in his pants where he had deposited his two meager coins.

"Will…will you let me borrow those two coins?" she asked, her voice hesitant.

Zuko frowned, "_Borrow_?"

A smile began to spread on Tienayu's face, "Yes, borrow. In fact, I'll give them back to you with interest."

Zuko stood up, his eyes searching her face for any sign of trickery or dishonesty.

Tienayu laughed lightly, "I'm not lying, Azulo."

He cringed inwardly at the name; it reminded him of so much that he didn't want to remember. Pushing it away he instead addressed the blue eyed girl in front of him.

"And how do you plan to do that?"

Tienayu smirked, "You'll see."

_The small boy raced after his younger sister, his small feet padding on the red stones of the hall. The great columns that lined the hall cast shadows across the hall._

"_Azula, what do you want it for?" the boy cried desperately, his voice strained._

_The smaller girl looked back at her brother, her cold face holding a cruel smirk, "You'll see."_

_The boy pushed himself to run faster, his black hair brightened by the warm sun that streamed through the window. His sister looked back at him and with a wicked smile abruptly turned into the palace gardens._

"_Azula!" the boy cried out, beginning to lose his patience._

"_Now, now, Zuzu, you have to run faster if you want me to give it back to you," the girl reprimanded her brother maliciously. _

_The boy's amber eyes narrowed and he took off in a fresh burst of energy, closing the small distance between him and his sister. The girl cried out in surprise as the boy stopped her with a hand on her forearm._

"_Give it back, Azula,' the boy ordered, his eyes calm but fierce, "It is not right to take that which is not yours."_

_The girl's thin lips spread into a smile and she launched the small object in her hand into the air. With a calculated kick, a fireball crashed into the object in mid-air._

"_NO!" the boy let go of his sister and immediately fell to the floor to pick the pieces which fell from the sky._

"_You are pathetic, Zuzu. Mother is dead. She was weak. You are a failure as a Fire Prince if all you do is cling to her memory," the girl spit. _

_The boy's tears fell onto the small pieces of a simple comb, creating lines in the burnt ashes. _

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AneleTiger.


	4. The Girl in the Rain

_**A/N:** This is a long chapter, so you can't complain. Sigh, isn't Zuko's past just so tragic? I can't say I don't enjoy writing it though: a little Zuko that is obsessed with his honor is so cute. Anyways, in this chapter you learn more about Tienayu. Who might not be as content as she appears to be. I'll leave it at that. So, remember to thank the author for posting, because I do like it when people tell me my writing isn't that bad. Read and review!_

_**Disclaimer:** Neither _Avatar: the Last Airbender_ (or Avatar: the Legend of Aang, as they call it in Britain) nor any of the characters in it belong to me…sob._

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Chapter III: The Girl in the Rain

The clouds were gathering in the sky as the night fell upon the small village, swallowing everything in darkness.

Zuko stood silent near the frame of the door, careful to keep his scar partially hidden in the shadows. Tienayu hummed beside him, her face holding a secret smile.

"Perfect," she muttered, lightly placing a small strand of loose hair behind her ear.

The inn was light by the dancing flames of orange candles, their glow illuminating the various round tables carved out of dark wood. The men and women of the village sat around the tables, dressed in the simple earth tones of the Earth Kingdom renegade army, laughing together as they drank to their fortune against the ruthless Fire Nation.

Zuko turned towards her, "What do you plan to do? Two coins are not going to buy anything here."

"Don't you worry, Azulo, I know what I am doing," Tienayu reassured him.

"Then tell me."

Tienayu analyzed him carefully before answering, "Tell me, have you ever played poker?"

Zuko felt his body temperature rise as he advanced angrily towards the smiling Tienayu, "What! You throw away the only two coins I have left on a _game_? Give them back. _Now_."

Tienayu's smile disappeared, and her indigo eyes flashed defiantly, "Don't order me around."

Thin, almost invisible wisps of smoke rose from Zuko's hands. His lips curled into an ugly grimace as he attempted to calm himself.

"I can order you around anytime I want," he snapped, not thinking twice about his words.

Tienayu's angry expression didn't change, "Who do you think you are? The Fire Prince?"

Her guess was so precise that Zuko felt all the fight leave him instantly, his amber eyes hurt. Pain ripped through him, and he immediately turned away from the angry girl, closing his eyes in an effort to keep the shadows away from him.

_The young woman lashed with a whip of fire as she stormed into the secluded garden._

"_How DARE you?" she cried out savagely, addressing the young man meditating before a calm flame on the grass._

_The youth did not answer to his sister's question, his breathing normal, at one with the rising and falling flame._

_The girl once again threw a whip of fire around, a cherry tree losing its flowers in the heat, "ANSWER ME!"_

_The boy opened his amber eyes enough to peer inquisitively at the enraged girl._

"_What do you want, Azula?" he asked levelly._

_The girl's gold eyes flashed in anger as she harnessed a fireball in her hand, sending it flying towards the seated youth. The young man, with amazingly quick reflexes , put out his palm and caught the ball of fire, extinguishing it instantly. _

"_Don't play with me, Azula," he warned, his voice serious._

_The girl regained her composure and approached her brother, a smile spreading on her cold features._

"_Tell me, Zuzu, are you such a pitiful creature that you would fall so low as to tell on me?" she asked dangerously._

_The boy frowned, perplexed at the girl's comment, "What?"_

"_You told father about the ball, didn't you?" the young woman stated._

_Another frown, "No."_

"_You LIE!" the girl burst out, the grass under her feet becoming black in the heat she gave off, "Father called me to his study and told me that if I ever made fun of the title, your title, I would be punished severely!" _

_The young man's face was stern, "I did not tell father anything, Azula. You should know that."_

_Suddenly the girl began to smile once more, her voice cruel when she spoke, "Why, of course. You are right: father would never talk to you. Such a pitiful and weak Prince. He prefers to never see you, so that he can forget the embarrassment that you cause him."_

_The boy, who had previously sat calmly on the grass, stood up, his face angry, trying to hide the hurt in his eyes, "Go away, Azula."_

_The girl was already leaving, her thin, red lips stretched in a maliciously content smile. _

"I am sorry," a voice uttered behind him, soft and full of regret.

Zuko stood still, tired and worn.

Tienayu continued, her voice strained, "The war has affected us all. It leaves so much suffering, destruction, and memories of all that we want to forget…"

Zuko turned around slowly, his amber eyes unreadable.

"Here," Tienayu extended her hand, the small gold coins shining in the light of the lit candles.

Zuko shook his head, "No. I have no use for them."

A silence passed between them, and Zuko saw shadows obscuring the calm blue of Tienayu's eyes. He didn't know why he had let her have the only money he had left. Maybe it was because he was weak, maybe it was because he was a failure. Either way he couldn't find himself caring. Inside, all he felt was cold, icy numbness. He was alone and would always be alone. He had no use for two coins that could not buy him anything.

Tienayu shook herself, her eyes losing the shadows that had been present in them just before.

"I am a fair poker player. I can win us enough money to eat something. Do you agree that I should play?" she asked.

The way she had worded her question Zuko knew that had meant to include him, to make him feel as if he made the decision when she had already done so. She had worded the question as if he couldn't make a decision by himself, as if he a useless accessory.

"You have made the decision yourself," Zuko stated, his voice cold.

Tienayu seemed hurt by his tone of voice, "I didn't mean for it to sound that way."

Zuko suddenly felt guilty for having been so bitter, she did seem to sincerely regret that her question had been offensive.

"Forget it," he muttered, turning to face the round tables of the inn, hoping that no one had noticed their argument.

Tienayu's gentle hand took hold of his own, a motion, which, needless to say, greatly startled the Fire Prince, and began leading him towards a round table of to a corner of the inn.

_The small boy stood immobile at the foot of the great black doors, his ear pressed against the cold dark wood. His golden eyes were narrowed in concentration as he attempted to catch words and phrases from the council inside. A heavy man dressed in simple red robes trimmed with gold stood a little while off, his hands folded inside the wide sleeves of his robe as he observed the black haired boy, an amused expression on his face._

"_It is not wise to eavesdrop, nephew," the man stated, his voice kind._

_The boy jumped in surprise and quickly turned around. When he caught sight of his uncle, the boy cast his eyes to the ground._

"_I wanted to hear what they were saying," the boy began._

"_That would be eavesdropping."_

_The boy looked up, his expression hesitant as he analyzed his uncle. The man smiled, and offered his hand. Without thinking about it twice, the boy took his uncle's hand, and allowed his uncle to lead him away from the tall wooden doors._

"_Now, what is it that you wanted to hear?" asked his uncle conversationally as they entered a great hall paved with red tiles of marble._

"_I wanted to hear if they were going to send you back to Ba Sing Se," the boy admitted, he looked up at his uncle, his gold eyes pleading, "Please don't go, uncle, please."_

_The man smiled fondly down at the boy, "Don't worry, they don't have ginseng tea in Ba Sing Se."_

_The boy pondered this for a moment and then smiled._

"Hello, boys," Tienayu sat down leisurely at the table, "Who wants to play some poker?"

The three men seated around the table stared incredulity at the young woman who had placed her crossed feet on the table. The largest among them, a great man whose long hair was pulled back roughly into a loose ponytail, let out a loud guffaw of a laugh.

"You want to play, little girl?" he boomed, his chest heaving.

Tienayu idly inspected her nails as she answered, "Why, of course. Or else I wouldn't have asked, wouldn't I?"

The large man let out another great laugh, pounding the table with his large hand. His full face broke into a toothy grin. Zuko grimaced in disgust.

"Well, then, little girl, lets make this a friendly game. We shall start with introductions. I am Xholu, but my friends…and enemies," the man let out a laugh, "call me Xo."

A skinnier man to the right of Xo, spoke up, his voice silkily sweet, "Jiao Shi."

"Watch me play, girl, because I catch the aces. Yuito," said the last man, while shuffling the cards gracefully with one hand.

Tienayu's carefree expression did not change, "I will definitely watch you. You can call me Tienayu."

The men nodded their assent. Then Xo raised an eyebrow and motioned to Zuko, who stood stiffly behind Tienayu's chair, "And your friend there, is he not part of our friendly game?"

Zuko frowned, and fought the urge to growl and warn the man to show more respect to the heir to the Fire Nation throne. Instead he remained silent and allowed Tienayu to answer for him.

"Azulo does not fancy a game of poker now," Tienayu leaned forward on the table, a grin spreading on her face, "however, as soon as you deem you are ready, we can start."

Xo stroked his small beard thoughtfully and then leaned back in his chair, "What say you, little girl, to raise the stakes a bit, and play, a friendly game for sure, but with a little coin or two?"

Tienayu relaxed in her chair, "I was waiting for you to propose it, dear."

Yuito chuckled softly, and began shuffling the deck once more, the cards flying into the air before landing neatly into his hand, "Since you are our guest, please, you can place the prize of the entire first game. We'll start simple."

Tienayu's pouch clicked fully as she dropped one coin on the table, "Ladies first, as they say."

Three more coins clinked onto the wooden table. Yuito smirked and dealt the cards.

Zuko watched the game with interest. He had never really been one for games of chance: he hated loosing; years with his sister had done that to him. But with his dinner at stake, the first one he would be eating in two days, he took a sudden interest in Tienayu's five cards. A pair of aces and a pair of threes. At the switch, Tienayu threw away her ace, along with the spare five of earth she had before.

Zuko scowled, but said nothing.

Yuito handed her two cards, a triumphant expression on his face. A ten of water and a nine of air. Nothing. All Tienayu had now was an ace, a pair of threes, a ten and a nine. Zuko steamed. They had lost this round, when they could have maybe won.

"Since we are playing with only a bet at the beginning, as, little girl, our game is friendly and for fun," Xo spoke up, coughing slightly, "we all show our cards, with no further bet, unless you chose to abstain, in which case, you do not have a chance at winning."

"Seems fair," Tienayu replied leisurely.

Jiao Shi threw his cards down, his face an ugly frown, "I abstain."

Xo laughed, patting his friend heartily on the back, "Better luck next time!"

He then proceeded to put down four kings. Zuko hid his surprise at the poker of kings.

Yuito made a grimace as he put down three queens and a pair of jacks.

Finally, Tienayu surrendered her cards, "Sorry, boys, I wasn't lucky this time."

Zuko saw Jiao Shi snigger silently at the meager pair of threes.

Xo's large hand swept the four coins into his pocket. With an exultant smile he turned his attention to Tienayu, "Still up to another game, little girl?"

Tienayu smirked, "Anytime, Xo."

Their last coin clinked ominously on the table.

Zuko felt himself despair at the cards in Tienayu's hands. Even though he wasn't a glutton, like a certain uncle of his, it was certainly going to cost him to say good bye to his dinner. She held an assortment of cards: a ten of fire, a four of earth, a jack of fire, a seven of water, and a queen of fire. The switch came, and Zuko watched with curiosity as she threw away the four and the seven. Then he understood her game.

Xo gave Tienayu two cards. The four players glanced down to see if their fortune had improved. Some smiled, and some fought the urge to sigh in dejection.

Xo raised his head once he had finished inspecting his game, "So, ready to show?"

Around the table everyone nodded. Zuko's amber eyes were expressionless in the light of the inn.

Yuito put down his cards. And a general hush fell around the table. Full house, with three aces and two kings.

Xo dejectedly threw down his five cards, his voice deep as he contemplated his three jacks, "The win is always bittersweet at a moment like this.'

Jiao Shi nodded his assent as he set down his pair of queens.

Tienayu's indigo eyes rested on Yuito, who looked back at her victoriously.

"Well, I have got to say, you certainly do catch all the aces," she began, "But you forgot about one. The ace of fire."

Tienayu put down her cards.

"Here is to the Fire Nation Royalty. I have the entire family."

Yuito swore, and pounded the table with his fist at the sight of the royal flush of fire. Xo let out a great bellow of a laugh. Jiao Shi raised his eyebrows in surprise. And Zuko smiled secretly; for once, his family seemed to have come to his aid.

Tienayu happily took the four coins from the table and dropped them into her pocket, "Up to another friendly game, dears?"

Zuko couldn't believe how well the blue eyed girl handled her cards. Every time it seemed that she would lose she would ingeniously use the cards he would have given up for useless and come out the winner. In less than a half an hour, Tienayu had multiplied his two measly coins by ten, and she still played, switching and winning.

"Sorry, boys, I win again: collection of the four kings, with a spare ace," Tienayu excused herself, bringing towards herself the many coins thrown on the table.

Yuito furiously threw his chair back, "I have played enough. A drink, anyone?"

Xo contemplated his friend and then turned to Tienayu.

Tienayu nodded, "I have enough fun, playing this, friendly for sure, game of poker. But too many plays tires one out, something to eat would do me and my companion good. Thank you for the friendly game."

Xo's face spread into a grin, "Well spoken, little girl," he turned around and bellowed, "USHIO! Come and give this girl and her companion the most decent meal you have!"

The more rotund man behind the counter looked up from his gathered coins. After identifying Xo, the man nodded and left towards the kitchens.

Zuko pushed back his finished plate. The food had been good. Then again, Zuko doubted that he would find anything inedible after fasting for two full days. In front of him, Tienayu looked up, her smile directed at him.

"So, am I a good card player?" she asked slyly.

Zuko analyzed her before answering, "At poker, better than I though you would be."

Tienayu laughed, "Thank you, in your case, I guess that is a compliment."

Zuko scowled; what did she mean, _in your case_?

Just at that moment, Xo came over, setting his corpulent self in a chair. To Zuko he seemed too relaxed after having lost nearly all of his coins, but he had plenty of experience with fat old men who seemed happy to live in complete poverty, so he couldn't say that Xo was not content.

"Little girl, you have all my respect; never have I seen anyone play like you just did," he boomed, grinning.

Tienayu gave a slight bow, her face lighting up at the compliment. Zuko couldn't see how she could consider his compliment worse than Xo's. To him, Xo was exaggerating, now, _his_ comment had been truly what he thought. Then again, it wasn't like he cared what a girl he had known only one day thought of his compliment, and in a way, thank you. Especially such an odd girl. Who might be Azula's spy – though that theory seemed less likely now. Azula would never associate herself with a girl who would mingle so well with commoners, one of his sister's faults.

"I was taught by a great teacher," Tienayu responded humbly.

Yuito came over, his face relaxed as well, but with drink. Zuko grimaced in disgust as the man leaned over, his breath giving off a stench as he spoke.

"Tell us your secret, gal, for you have to have one to beat me," Yuito slurred.

Tienayu gave a small laugh, "I have no secret, just a lot of good luck."

Yuito burst out in laughter, "I'm not gonna to believe that!"

Jiao Shi came over at his friends laugher, and added to the conversation, his voice teasing, "Let it go Yuito, I have a feeling that this girl would keep her secret even if we killed her mother for it!"

Tienayu suddenly froze, her tanned face becoming white and ashen. Her hand began to tremble slightly as she pushed back her chair.

"That is not true," she whispered, her voice horrified.

The three card players stopped laughing, their expressions confused. Zuko looked at her, puzzled at her sudden behavior. Tienayu looked around her, her eyes haunted, and her posture frightened, and then ran. The door of the inn slammed shut behind her, the sound resounding in the silent hall.

Xo was the first to speak, "What got into her?"

Zuko glared at the three men coldly before standing up and making his way to the door, closing it surely behind him.

_The black haired boy cried silently on his bed, the sheets wet with his tears. His eyes were shut tightly, in a feeble attempt at keeping the tears at bay. Without a noise, the dark red curtains of the bed were pushed away. The woman wrapped her arms tightly around the small child, her dark eyes pained as she hushed him softly._

"_Your father is a hard man, my love, but he does love you," the woman explained, cradling her son._

_The boy's tears wet the rich fabric of the lady's kimono as he cried into her shoulder. A soft wind blew through the room, playing with the woman's long black hair._

"_That…that…that is not…that is not true," the boy managed to push out, his small body heaving with silent cries, "He hates…me."_

_The women let out a sigh of despair, and somewhere in her eyes were hidden years of sorrow._

"_He did not mean what he said to you," she tried to clarify, though her voice was not sure._

_The boy rejected what she said and instead lifted his golden eyes to hers, his voice steady for once, "He told me I was weak, and that I was a disappointment."_

_The woman's eyes seemed to fill with tears as she hugged her child closer to her, burying him in her arms, in her next words she did not deny the truth of what her the boy said._

"_You should not be ashamed of crying, my son, nor should you be ashamed of compassion. Even if your father is too afraid to do these things himself. For there is no greater feat in this world than to love, and to offer a little kindness."_

_The son and mother hugged themselves, drowning in the blinding light of the sun._

The sky spilled out over the barren desert, the clear rain drumming heavily on the dry earth. Zuko didn't know why he followed her, he would have been better in the warm and dry hall of the inn. He was cold and wet in the dark night. But when he saw her still shape standing alone under the heavy sheets of rain he felt relieved to have found her. Her brown hair was black with water and her clothes were drenched. He couldn't see her face, but he knew that she was who he was looking for. No one else would stand in the rain and let the earth drown them. No one else but him. Zuko walked over to her. When he reached her, he positioned himself next to her and observed the desert stretch infinitely in every direction, an ocean of sand and rain.

"Why did you run?" Zuko asked, not accusing her, but simply asking.

Tienayu didn't answer right away. Her shape was still for a while.

"The question is not why," Tienayu corrected, her voice a whisper.

"From what did you run?" Zuko asked once more, feeling himself get detached from the earth around him, his spirit lost in the sheets of rain, in the drumming of the clear drops on his body.

"Myself."

A cloud shifted in the sky and the white of the moon's light mingled with the drops of rain, converting the drops into sliver snow. When she looked at him her cobalt eyes were seas of sorrow and pain, something Zuko was sure she would see in his own, amber eyes.

Ψ

AneleTiger.


	5. Behind These Names

_**A/N:** I'm back from vacation! And here is a great update ready for you! The story is coming along, isn't it? Tienayu is obviously hiding something from Zuko, and Zuko is hiding himself from her. They are just so tragic. Anyways, I really don't want to give very much away, so I'll leave it at that. I wanted to thank everyone for their kind reviews, please keep them coming! They definitely inspire me to write more :)_

_**Disclaimer:** Neither Avatar: the Last Airbender (or Avatar: the Legend of Aang, as they call it in Britain) nor any of the characters in it belong to me…tear._

Ψ

Chapter IV: Behind These Names

Zuko couldn't help but remember the night before, though it seemed clouded by mist. He couldn't forget her tears, and her hurt eyes. The Fire Prince shook his head, trying to think of something else, anything else: he had only known the girl for a day. And yet never had anyone intrigued him as much as this girl.

"_From what did you run?"_

"_Myself."_

Zuko closed his eyes. He was also trying to hide. He was also running from himself. When he and his uncle had parted ways, when Azula had told him that his father didn't want him anymore: avatar or no avatar, he had felt his inner walls crumble. He couldn't hide from his memories like he had done before. Because they were all he had. He took the chance to glance at Tienayu, who rode beside him. She had yet to say something. Her clothes were dry, and her dark hair was blowing freely in the wind, but still, the memory of last nigh hung heavily on the two teenagers. Zuko couldn't bring himself to ask her the questions that he wanted to ask. Asking questions meant having to answer questions. And Zuko would not answer questions. Not because he would risk being caught by Azula, but because he didn't know the answers.

_The boy's face was a mask of hurt. His golden eyes looked accusingly at the older boy that stood over him. The older boy smirked at the look, his black eyes matching the black of his training robe._

"_Can't you answer?" the older boy pressed, his voice malicious. _

_The amber eyed boy looked around him, at the soft earth of the training ground, at the red walls of the buildings around them, at the many other boys that were practicing, lighting the yard with their fire._

"_I cannot answer your question," the boy assented, his voice slightly deflated._

_The older boy laughed. A laugh that chilled the smaller boy. The black eyed boy advanced, dropping his voice to a taunting whisper._

"_Then can you tell me why your father put your sister, a mere girl who is a year younger than you, in a more advanced training course than you?" the questioning boy's lips turned upwards in a secret smile. _

_The smaller boy struggled for an answer, wanting to provide one. But there wasn't an answer. His father didn't deem him worthy enough as his son to explain why he must always be degraded before his sister. Why he had to face constant humiliation. Yet the boy turned defiantly to the older, stronger boy, his golden eyes challenging the other to ask again._

"_There is no answer."_

Tienayu suddenly brought up her head, her face weary with lack of sleep. With a quick, unenthusiastic look at her surroundings, she turned to Zuko.

"How long have we been riding?" she asked tiredly.

Zuko glanced up at the burning sun before responding, "Three hours."

The girl stretched on her saddle, and then proceeded to drink some water from the large sack of water that hung from the side of her ostrich-horse. Zuko watched as she drank and then looked expectantly into the sack, only to sigh resignedly.

"No water left, sorry. We need to find a river soon," she stated, with a small apologetic smile in his direction.

The banished Prince narrowed his eyes as he scanned the horizon, "The desert is ending, I can see the beginning of a forest; we'll find water there."

Tienayu gave a small nod, too oppressed by the harsh sun to do anything else. Inside, Zuko smirked. He was much less affected by the heat of the burning sun. But he couldn't understand why. If he had guessed correctly, and he was sure of his accuracy, Tienayu was in league with his sister. And if that were true than she would be a powerful firebender, as that was the only type of people his sister associated herself with. But firebenders did not portray the same exhaustion and thirst that Tienayu was portraying in the sun. After all, the sun heightens a firebender's power, just as the moon favors waterbenders. Tienayu was an unusual image of a firebender: it was extremely rare for a firebender to have blue eyes. She could not be trusted.

"_From what did you run?"_

"_Myself."_

"Finally," Tienayu sighed, dropping off her mount onto the ground.

They had reached a small clearing under the protective shade of the trees. A large river could be heard gliding through the forest. Zuko slid off his ostrich-horse.

"We'll stay here for the day," he stated, looking around at the large trees that hid them from view of the rest of the forest. It was a good campsite, and he would be able to sleep unhindered by thoughts of his sister finding him.

Tienayu smiled at this and allowed herself to fall back onto the soft earth, "Sounds good."

Zuko didn't answer, and instead began to unpack the sleeping bag he had kept inside his traveling bags. Tienayu watched his actions with interest from the ground.

"Would you mind if I had a cover? It's cold," she suddenly asked, her voice serious.

Zuko turned towards her, "I only have this one."

Tienayu let her eyes fall to the ground as she nodded, "Of course."

He felt a stab of an unknown feeling at her forlorn expression, "Don't you have one?"

Tienayu shook her head, not giving an explanation as to why.

Zuko looked down at his sleeping bag. It would be cold tonight. Yet to any firebender that was irrelevant; they generated heat. Any firebender would sleep well without a cover. Then why was she shaking slightly now? Why had she been so affected by the sun? Was she a firebender? Zuko fought against himself. Why should he give her his sleeping bag? He had brought the weight with him all along so that he wouldn't have to sleep directly on the dirt ground. Yet, Tienayu had given him no hint that she was a firebender, that she was in league with Azula. All he had were his suspicions. All he had was the sure knowledge that no one would stay as long as she had with Prince Zuko, unless they had the intention to capture him and bring him before his father. But she didn't know he was Prince Zuko. He hadn't told her. Maybe she wasn't in Azula's service. Maybe she was just a traveler, like him, searching for something that he couldn't define. His honor. Himself. To her, maybe he was just Azulo, and not Prince Zuko.

"Here, I have no use for it," he suddenly spoke up, throwing the sleeping bag at Tienayu.

The girl caught it, a stunned expression on her features. She looked up at him hesitantly, "Why did you give it to me?"

Zuko looked at her oddly. Hadn't she been the one who asked him for it? He had given her his sleeping bag, and now he would be sore next morning. She had asked him and he had given it to her. That was the reason. Or maybe there wasn't a reason.

When he didn't respond to her question, Tienayu cleared an area of any rock or obstruction and gently set down the black material.

"Thank you," she murmured, smiling up at him.

Zuko nodded, accepting her gratitude and then turned to back to his traveling bags, rummaging through them for anything else. He frowned when his hand touched something solid, and small. All that should be left in the bags a blue mask. Irritated that he had been carrying around something else that he wasn't aware of, he stuck his hand in further, trying to get hold of whatever it was. Finally securing the object he brought it out, planning to burn it to a crisp the second Tienayu's back was turned.

It was a blue lotus tile. His uncle's lotus tile.

Zuko felt homesickness wash over him. He missed his uncle. Since his mother had died his uncle had been the only one who had stayed by him, who had been proud of him. He remembered when he had challenged Admiral Zhao to an Agni Kai. When his uncle had told him that he was honorable, that he had all the honor that Zhao lacked. It had been the only time in his life, after his mother's death, that somebody had praised him like that. His father had never praised him. Ozai had snarled and reprimanded his son for his weakness, his incapacity to firebend like his sister. He had never told him he was honorable.

"Azulo?" Tienayu's voice cut through his thoughts.

Zuko turned around slowly, hiding the small lotus tile in his pocket. Tienayu had stood up behind him, her dark hair once again held up in a loose knot at the back of her head.

"I'm going to go down to the river for a swim," she explained, looking at him carefully.

Zuko instantly jumped on the chance. She would be gone, and he would be able to practice his firebending. Even if she wasn't Azula's spy he couldn't allow her to know what he was. He had only met her yesterday, and he couldn't trust her. Not yet. Not until he knew more about her and who she was.

"I am going to go look for wood, for the fire. Don't bother to come back quickly."

Tienayu smiled in agreement, "Sure thing, I'll take all the time in the world, I need it."

_The young man stood perfectly still, his arms crossed, as he observed an older, heavier man run through a sequence. For his age, the man moved with surprising agility, a whirlwind of fire. With a final arc of fire flying from his hands, the man stopped. He turned towards the youth that watched, the old man's posture content and peaceful._

"_So?"_

_The black haired adolescent frowned._

"_I did all the right positions and transitions," he argued._

_The heavier man let out a chuckle, "Yes. You did."_

_The teenager let out a triumphant smile._

"…_But you didn't let yourself flow," the older man finished._

_The young man's smile turned into a scowl, "Who cares if I didn't flow? Only you would care, uncle!"_

_His uncle shook his head, a serene smile on his face, "True. But because _I_ do care, and _I_ am your teacher, do it again. And flow. Remember, firebending can only be master by the control of fire, not by mere brute strength. Or else I would have you doing push ups," the uncle laughed, but then quickly stopped when he noticed his nephew wasn't laughing, "Firebending is like meditation. Breathe and control the fire, don't let it control you. Now, _flow_."_

_The young man rolled his eyes and commenced the sequence once more. And his uncle nodded in satisfaction as he observed his nephew move with more suppleness, the flames breathing in rhythm with the young man._

Zuko drew his broadswords and carefully set them on the ground of the small clearing he had found. It was big enough to practice his firebending without having to worry about causing a forest fire. He stood up from his short meditation, extinguishing the small flame before him. The bird calls were the only sound in the forest. No characteristic crunch of leaves that would have signaled to Zuko that Tienayu had finished her swim and decided to come find him. Which would be typical of her, judging by the few days he had known her, and if that incident with the water when they had met had been an indicator at all.

Zuko couldn't let her know that he was a firebender.

He set himself up.

_The stance of a firebender is most important_, his uncle had told him, _for a firebender needs to be balanced to control fire, the most volatile of all the four elements_.

Zuko felt the corners of his mouth curl up slightly before he began.

The Fire Prince moved with confidence and security in his steps as he practiced the basic exercises his uncle had taught him. A flame flew from his outstretched hand, quickly followed by an arc of fire as his foot soared through the air. Once again his stance shifted. A fireball, and then a whip of fire lashing through the air. His feet slid fluidly across the clearing, the flames and fires breathing with his even breaths. Finally he stopped, the fire instantly extinguishing itself, leaving no trace that it had been there.

The broadswords came to rest in Zuko's hands.

_Using fire with weapons is very dangerous. It can easily get out of control. It is like a cup of ginseng tea: if you tip the cup in the hurry to drink it, all the tea spills and you don't have any left to drink. _The old General had seemed sad at finishing this thought._ Remember to feel the swords as part of you, or else you risk tipping the cup and spilling the tea. _

The swords ignited with flames. A step forward with a sword cutting down from above, instantly followed by the second sword. An blaze lit the clearing as the Prince moved through his positions with amazing agility. Both feet coming off the ground for a flip, leaving behind them a semicircle of orange, red and yellow. Then he improvised, running with the blades. Another slice emitted a large arc of fire that cut through the air. The birds sung from far away in the forest.

_The girl laughed, the dark chuckle void of all happiness that would have characterized anything amusing. A bright sun streamed on her black hair, lighting the red kitchen. The pots and pans were all out, roughly strewn around the floor as if someone had been searching for something among them. On the black marble counter all kind of vegetables and food, including a large, freshly caught fish, where set neatly apart from each other. A boy looked crossly at the laughing girl, his gold eyes narrowed._

"_Zuzu, you are just too funny!" the girl said, halting her laughs._

_The boy did not seem to find the girl funny at all, "Get out, Azula. I do not need your help."_

_The girl made an expression of disgust, "Surely you are joking: I would never even think of helping you. What you are doing is not fit of your title. It is peasant work."_

_For a second the boy's eyes seemed to reflect hurt, but he quickly recovered, his gaze stern, though his voice was calm and steady, "What have you done for mother, Azula?"_

_The pale girl frowned, "Why should I do anything for mother?"_

"_Because she is sick!" the boy exclaimed, shocked at his sister's cold heart._

_The girl seemed confused, "So? It is her fault that she let her weakness prevail. Not mine. I don't have to do anything."_

"_Mother would appreciate it if you did something for her, it would make her happy. It doesn't have to be anything big: you could get her a flower from the garden," the boy proposed to his younger sister._

_The girl laughed at the boy's brotherly tone, her gold eyes ridiculing him, "Do you plan to instruct me on what to do?"_

_The boy looked slightly wounded by her words. _

"_Father never gets sick. Grandfather never gets sick. And they are Fire Lords. Mother is the only weak woman who catches a fever."_

_The boy interrupted his sister sternly, "Father will never be Fire Lord. Uncle Iroh will be."_

_The girl laughed once more, "Oh, of course, I forgot about your precious Uncle. Yet, answer this, brother, have you ever seen Uncle Iroh get sick? No. Because only mother gets sick. I will give her nothing, because she deserves nothing."_

_The boy seemed ready to strike at his sister at her words, but instead he turned away from her, his knife falling heavily on the onion._

Zuko watched the fish that Tienayu had caught roast over the fire. The moon was not visible between the trees in the night sky, but the small fire illuminated the small clearing. The Fire Prince shifted on his sleeping bag, and Tienayu whistled quietly beside him. He couldn't stand her whistling. He was going to crack if she didn't stop whistling whatever stupid song that was and he knew it. It just went on again and again. Always the same annoying tune. Suddenly she stopped. Zuko could have sighed in relief.

"Do you know what song that's from?" she asked.

Zuko didn't know, nor did he care.

"It's from an ancient song that praises the spirits of the night wind."

Zuko bit back his sarcastic reply and a silence fell between the two.

Tienayu turned towards him, her eyes looking him over, "Your name means searching, doesn't it?"

Zuko analyzed her. She wasn't asking him what his name meant. She was asking him what his purpose was. Who he was. What he was doing alone in the desert of a nation that clearly wasn't his.

"Then your name must mean running."

Tienayu's saddened eyes agreed with his statement. They both turned to look into the fire, listening to the soft whispers of the flames.

Ψ

AneleTiger


	6. What We Try To Hide

_**A/N: **You guys are amazing! Just the last chapter we broke the record again and now we made it to 7 reviews for chapter! Just to prove that I love you all, and that I can't wait for your reviews for this chapter (stay with me people) I will now give everyone a free Zuko plushy! Yay! Sojust a little note before we start that you will know when to apply: Ozai doesn't normally just execute people (I know, hard to believe): Nursa had been banished and returned without permission._

_**Disclaimer:** Neither Avatar: the Last Airbender (or Avatar: the Legend of Aang, as they call it in Britain) nor any of the characters in it belong to me…snuffle._

Ψ

Chapter V: What We Try to Hide

"And so the old man said to the earthbender: Well, if you want to practice with Pebbles, you have to go get him, because I left him at home, hoping he wouldn't be needed!" Tienayu began to laugh as soon as she finished telling the joke.

Zuko stared at her, completely at lost as to what the joke was about, and especially at how she could find it so funny. When Tienayu saw that Zuko was not laughing, but rather looking at her oddly, she stopped, coughing quietly to disguise her laugh.

"Do you get it?" she asked.

"No."

Tienayu stared counting off on her fingers, "Look, that one wasn't that bad. First, remember that the old man has a cat named _Pebbles_, and that his cat practices. Second, notice the earthbender said that he was practicing with _pebbles_, as in the rock, not the cat. So, finally, when the old guy responds, he thinks that the earthbender wants to practice with his cat, not the rocks."

Zuko turned to look ahead of him, "They just keep on getting worse."

Tienayu looked outraged, "Well, I'd like to see you come up with a good joke. It's impossible to make you laugh: you don't get a single one of them and when I explain them to you they aren't funny anymore!"

"Your jokes remind me of the jokes my uncle makes."

"Is that an insult?"

Zuko smirked, "Do you find this funny: A firebender has a cup of jasmine tea, he then trades it for a piece of goose, but promptly finds that he can trade the piece of goose for a whole cow. Unfortunately for him, he doesn't realize the cow was actually not a cow at all, but a rock filled with green tea."

Tienayu blinked twice, "I don't get it."

Zuko couldn't wipe the smirk of his features, "To get that joke you have to remember that the firebender originally has a cup of _jasmine_ tea. When he trades this with a piece of goose he is getting something good that is edible. But the cow, which, remember, is a rock filled with green tea, is a horrible trade, because _green_ tea is disgusting compared to _jasmine_ tea."

Tienayu frowned, "I don't like tea."

"Neither do I," Zuko consented.

Suddenly Tienayu looked at Zuko with a new look in her eyes, "Are you making fun of me?"

"No, I'm serious; that is a joke my uncle told me."

"Your uncle isn't a very funny guy."

"No, but he thinks he is."

Tienayu laughed, "Sounds like a friend I used to have. He thought he was a great comedian, but I personally didn't understand him. He was older, so he used to say that it was because I was from a different generation. Maybe that's why you don't understand your uncle's jokes."

Zuko seemed to think this over before rapidly shaking his head, "No, my uncle is just crazy. To every generation."

Tienayu gave another laugh, then leaned down slightly on her mount and brought up a sack she had filled the day before with water from the river. After drinking she passed it to Zuko, who caught it easily in his hands.

"So, tell me Azulo, do you know any jokes?" Tienayu asked, arching an eyebrow.

Zuko opened his mouth to respond, but Tienayu cut him off.

"And it can't be one of your uncle's jokes. Trust me, if he's anything like my grandfather I'll know if it's one of his."

"I don't know any jokes. There is nothing to laugh about in our world," Zuko stated, his golden eyes lost in the forest around him.

The smile on the young woman's face vanished, replaced by an expression of sorrow. Sorrow that had cut deep lines into her being.

"You're right," she assented.

Zuko glanced at her, and found himself staring into his memories.

_The messenger ran like a bolt of lightning down the hall, his crimson robes blurred in the heavy summer air. His shoed feet pounded on the marble tiles of the palace halls, and his face was strained with exhaustion. Another column of red flashed by his line of vision, disappearing behind him. He ran faster. Finally he reached his destination, barging into the elegantly decorated room. The family looked up at him. The mother's dark eyes were questioning, contrasting with the hard cold eyes of her husband. The two small children analyzed the messenger with their identical golden eyes. The boy curious, the girl with cold calculation. _

"_My lord, Prince Ozai, please accept my apologies for interrupting you at the hour of your repast," the messenger bowed deeply._

_Prince Ozai's expression did not change as he motioned the man to speak._

_The messenger nodded his respect and began, "I bring news from your brother, Fire Prince Iroh, from Ba Sing Se."_

_The boy seemed to jump with interest, his eyes earnest for information. The mother calmly set a hand on her son's knee, willing him to keep his silence. _

"_His son, future Fire Prince Lu Ten, has been captured and taken prisoner. Your brother bids you to present this information to your father, Fire Lord Azulon, and asks you send ambassadors immediately in order to reassure the safety of the future Fire Prince, Lu Ten."_

_The entire family stood still. The boy's eyes were wide, and afraid. His cousin was a prisoner of war. He might never see him again._

_There would be no laughing tonight after dinner. There couldn't be; the four nations were at war. _

Tienayu waved her hand in the air, trying to fend off the mosquitoes, letting out quite a few words that Zuko was sure no noble woman of any rank would ever utter. Zuko couldn't help but be amused at her actions.

"Arrggh! Azulo, do something! I _hate_ mosquitoes!" Tienayu cried out in frustration, moving around on her saddle in an attempt to avoid the mass of insects.

Zuko flinched slightly at the name. The name so like his sister's. Pushing those thoughts aside he turned towards Tienayu, and tried to suppress a grin at her failing technique. Of course, he had to consider himself lucky that no mosquitoes came towards him. He had raised his body temperature and the insects avoided him.

"You are never going to get rid of them like that," he pointed out, after a moment.

Tienayu stopped what she was doing to stare irritably at him, "No, really?" she said sarcastically, "I think I figured that out, thank you very much."

Zuko once again had to suppress a grin. And at the back of his mind something told him that never, in a very long time, had a person made him want to laugh as much as Tienayu did.

"Do you want to race?" he suddenly asked, preparing the reins of his ostrich-horse.

Tienayu's eyes flashed in challenge, "After you, tiger."

Zuko didn't need to be told twice. He kicked his mount forward. He saw Tienayu lurch forward as she raced to catch up to him. The ostrich-horse's hooves pounded on the forest floor, leaves flying up with the dust. She was laughing, he could hear her. It was such a free laugh. Zuko had heard her laugh before, but none of the other laughs had been like this one. They had always been clouded. Like his. Except he just didn't laugh.

"What? Are you going to let me win?" Tienayu called out amiss the pounding of the hooves.

Zuko felt the corners of his mouth twitch, "Am I not fast enough for you?"

"Nope!"

Zuko kicked his ostrich-horse forward, faster, feeling the wind rush past his ears and weave through his growing black hair. Tienayu let out a cry of indignation at his sudden burst of speed and Zuko saw her grin out of the corner of his eye as she increased her speed. The trees flashed by his line of vision; blurs of bright green. Even the sounds were lost, only the insistent whistle of the wind remaining. Zuko could tell that Tienayu's mount was tiring. This time, Zuko couldn't hold back a satisfied smirk. She had beaten him once, but she wouldn't beat him this time. Or so he thought until his mount suddenly disappeared from underneath him and he fell, crashing to the ground.

"Azulo! Are you alright!" came Tienayu's voice.

Zuko irritably shook the dust off his clothes as he stood up, a scowl on his features. Tienayu dismounted her mount and hurried towards him.

"What happened?" she urged him, looking over at his panting ostrich-horse.

Zuko clenched his jaw shut. He didn't need her sympathy. He wasn't weak; a simple fall was nothing. He pushed her away.

"Nothing," he snapped coldly.

Tienayu backed away from him, a sad expression on her features. She looked up, through the canopy of the trees towards the sky, before once more allowing her troubled eyes to rest on him.

"I'm sorry," she explained.

Zuko analyzed her. He didn't know why all the anger he felt vanished so suddenly. He just couldn't help but feel guilty for having snapped at her. She had never snapped at him. She was too nice to him. And nobody was ever nice to Prince Zuko. But Zuko felt that he couldn't be suspicious of her.

"_From what did you run?"_

"_Myself."_

This girl with her indigo eyes was an enigma to him. She had traveled with him voluntarily. She had talked to him. And he found that he felt comfortable around her. As comfortable as if he had known her for a very long time. Yet, he knew nothing about her. He didn't what nation she was from. He didn't know if Tienayu was her real name. He didn't know if she was lying to him. He didn't know if she was a firebender. He didn't know if she was only traveling with him to capture him and bring him to his sister's mercy. He just didn't know anything about her. And still, he wasn't angry at her.

"No. You shouldn't be sorry," he admitted, never breaking eye contact with her.

Tienayu looked right back at him, "Why not?"

"Why should you be?"

Silence descended upon them as Tienayu though her answer, her eyes searching his.

"Because I worded my question so that it came out offending you. That was my fault."

Zuko couldn't hold back his next question, "Why did you answer me?"

"You asked me a question, and a question must always have an answer. That is why."

"No. You could have ignored me, you could have walked away."

"You have given me no reason to be unpleasant towards you, so I won't be."

Zuko couldn't help but feel frustrated by her answers, "That is not true."

Couldn't she see? He was Prince Zuko. A disgraced and exiled Prince. She could ignore him. She could walk away from him. Why was she still standing there, in front of him? He wasn't worth her company. He was a failure. He had no honor.

"Yes it is. The first day, when we met on the crossroad. You could have left me there. But you didn't. You allowed me to travel with you," Tienayu began, "Then, you gave me your two coins. Without them I would have gone hungry. But that is not all, you also gave me your only cover. I would have probably frozen that night without it. You see, you have given me no reason to be mean."

Zuko felt a scowl on his features, but couldn't come up with an answer. He was the banished Fire Prince. A disgrace. He hadn't invited her to travel with him, but hadn't denied her the right; thinking she was Azula's spy and not wanting to fight in his weakened state. He gave her the two coins because he could do nothing with them. He gave her the blanket because he had no need of it. He wasn't worth her praise. She had the wrong idea of him.

"You don't know me," Zuko muttered darkly.

Tienayu challenged his stern amber gaze with her own, "And you don't know me."

Both teenagers stood there, staring into each other's eyes. They strove to find something, but were unsure of what exactly it was.

_The boy shifted uncomfortably on the deep red throne. At this movement a strong, tall man glared darkly at him from a rich golden throne surrounded by bright flames, freezing the young boy to his seat. The great hall was spread around him in all its glory: the intricate mosaics of the floor spiraling into the ornate marble carvings of the tall pillars and columns. The chamber was filled with the false laugher of nobles and the blur of colors from their many expensive kimonos, gowns and robes. The boy looked around him for the thousandth time, trying to find anything that was slightly different from before._

"_Lady Nursa from the Northern Valley wishes to be presented to his majesty, Fire Lord Ozai," a voice was suddenly heard near the three thrones._

_The boy strained his neck forward, trying to catch a glimpse of the black haired young woman clothed in a delicate kimono of silver threads. Once she had reached the podium, the young woman bowed deeply before the throne of gold, her willowy frame graceful._

"_My greetings, brother," the young woman said softly with a bow before the throne of gold._

_The Fire Lord seemed to stiffen slightly, and the flames around him flickered in hesitation._

_The young woman raised her head, her sharp dark eyes not afraid to look straight at the powerful warlord, "May you please inform me, for I have the fault of having been born curious, why this festival has been proclaimed? If I understand protocol correctly, which, I can assure you, I do, no celebrations can be held in the eight weeks following the death of my dearest sister."_

_The Fire Lord didn't answer. The young woman took this opportunity to look down at the young boy seated on the red throne and offered him a secret smile._

"_My Lord? Has some illness befallen you, let me hope that is no so, that you can not answer my question?" the young woman pursued firmly, her face lined with determination._

_The flames around the golden throne surged angrily into the air, "Lady Nursa, you have no right to ask anything of the Fire Lord."_

_Nursa's beautiful lips spread into a small smile, "Is that so? What has the noble Fire Nation come to under your rule? Can a sister no longer ask her brother a mere curiosity? Can a woman no longer show concern over the soul of her sister?"_

"_No."_

_The boy's amber eyes widened with horror as the flames around the golden throne swirled around the delicate and sharp young woman, engulfing her in their embrace. _

_She never screamed._

Tienayu was whistling again. And Zuko was once again in a horrible mood. At least it wasn't the same song as the other night. Or else he wasn't sure he could insure he wouldn't turn her into a pile of ashes. He tried to concentrate on something else, anything else. The annoying warbles of the birds, for example.

"Stop!" he growled, halting in the middle of the road.

Tienayu promptly stopped whistling to stare at him.

"Stop what?" she asked innocently.

An act Zuko wasn't willing to believe just then.

"Whistling," he steamed.

Tienayu rolled her eyes, "Well, excuse me. Didn't your mother ever teach you to be a little more tolerant? I mean, I was only whistling, you could ask me to stop without blowing up on me."

Zuko felt the familiar waves of pain crash into him. He bowed his head before raising his amber eyes to stare into her hers.

"My mother is dead."

It had slipped from him, too fast for him to hold it back. But he didn't care. So, what if she knew? It didn't change anything. Tienayu closed her eyes briefly, as if attempting to shut away something.

"So is mine."

Zuko looked at her closely, not believing her words, the pain in them that so resembled his. Tienayu squinted slightly and a silence fell between them, deep with sorrow and hidden pain.

It was Tienayu who broke the silence, "She wasn't a normal mother. A normal mother wouldn't have cared for me. But she did. She wanted to be the one that cared for me. It must have been hard for her. But I can't remember a single time she got angry with me. She was always there if I needed her. And then…she …she just wasn't there for me anymore."

Zuko absorbed the words, astonishing himself when he opened his mouth to speak, "My mother was gentle, very different from my father. She was always in the gardens, she loved to see things bloom, watch the fish in the pond," his voice was laced with longing, and his next words he whispered to himself, almost inaudibly, "She loved me."

If someone had asked him why he had just talked to a near stranger about his mother Zuko wouldn't have been able to answer. He hadn't spoken to anyone about his mother since her death. Not even to his uncle. The last time he had said her name was in that small Earth Kingdom village, what seemed so long ago.

"_My name is Zuko! Son of Ursa and Fire Lord Ozai! Prince of the Fire Nation and heir to the throne!"_

"She sounds like a wonderful woman," Tienayu's soft, calming voice broke his thoughts.

His amber eyes were slightly sad, "She was."

"It's this damn war!" Tienayu suddenly screamed, her eyes flashing in anger, "It doesn't stop! It'll _never_ stop! Why can't that bastard of a Fire Lord just be happy with his kingdom? WHY?"

For a second Zuko felt anger surge through him as she insulted his father, but it quickly evaporated into the air as Tienayu collapsed onto the long neck of her mount, tears flowing from her eyes. Zuko didn't know what to do. He didn't have any experience with crying women. In fact, he didn't have any experience with women at all – he wasn't about to count his sister as a normal woman. Sliding off his mount, he carefully approached her, his posture displaying his obvious discomfort. He awkwardly patted her back, all the while wondering why he was bothering to comfort her. Finally Tienayu's silent heaves seemed to calm down. The young woman lifted her head, hastily wiping the remaining tears from her face.

"Thank you, Azulo. I just, kind of…lost it," Tienayu admitted shyly, as small broken smile spread on her tearstained face.

A distant part of Zuko's mind voiced the thought that he had never seen a more beautiful smile in his entire life. Zuko frowned in confusion. He didn't know her. She was a stranger. It didn't matter that he felt comfortable around her. It didn't matter that he enjoyed her company. He didn't know her and she would be treated as such: a mystery that could not be trusted. He couldn't let down his guard; Azula was out there, looking for him, and there were posters that demanded his capture in every town occupied by the Fire Nation.

He was an outlaw.

He could trust no one.

Ψ

AneleTiger.


	7. The Lessons We Learn

_**A/N:** I love you guys! We have once again achieved our record, and I have to say that it is all thanks to you. So a big round of Earth-Rumble style applause for _storm-of-insanity, AgniKaiKyoshi, Lionessmon, BioDragon, terragirl57, fresh air9, arisu's smile, _and_ TheDarkenedPhoenix_!A warning: this chapter is shorter than normal, no, don't freak out, it's not as short as the prologue :). The chapter just sort of ended itself, there was nothing I could do. Updates will come slower now that school has started up again, but bear with me. Remember to review, the more reviews, the sooner I update, come on, it's not going to hurt you to drop off a little word. Hope you like this chapter!_

_**Disclaimer:** Neither Avatar: the Last Airbender (or Avatar: the Legend of Aang, as they call it in Britain) nor any of the characters in it belong to me…cry._

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Chapter VI: The Lessons We Learn

_The tiles clicked on the surface of the red marble board. A small chuckle of satisfaction was heard in the air. The old man leaned back in his chair, his grey eyes contemplating the small boy before him. The boy furrowed his brow in concentration. He moved his hand, letting it hover in hesitation over a tile. Then, in a sudden rash act, the boy took the piece and let it click over the checkered surface of the marble board. The last click rung omniosly in the air. The fat man grinned as he quickly took up a tile and speed it across the marble._

"_Sorry, nephew, but it seems to me you aren't paying enough attention to my position. I was clearly going to move forward," the more corpulent man explained, his eyes sparkling at his victory._

_The boy let his head loll onto his propped up elbow, his gold eyes narrowed in frustration._

"_I hate this game," he muttered darkly, his small hand flicking a tile off the board._

_His uncle dove to catch the precious porcelain tile, an indignant look on his features._

"_Nephew, careful! If I were to lose any of these pieces the game would no longer be complete, and I would have to find another board," he explained, agitated, while he softly caressed the small tile._

_The small boy suddenly appeared regretful, "Sorry, uncle," his expression changed to one of irritation, "I'll never win a game."_

_His uncle smiled fondly down at the boy, "Nonsense. You have improved greatly since last month."_

_The boy's face light up._

"_Now, instead of beating you in one move I have to move at least three times to confuse you."_

_An expression which quickly deteriorated into the sullen look of before. _

_He hated Pai Sho._

"So, repeat the order of power," Tienayu asked, brushing back her dark hair into a messy bun.

"A pair, a triplet, a full house, a flush and a poker," Zuko numbered quickly.

Tienayu smiled, "It seems to me you can still learn something yet."

The two teenagers were seated on the scarce grass by the bank of the rushing river. The shade of the tall forest trees kept at bay the most punishing rays of the sun at its height. Not far off the two ostrich-horses grazed peacefully, thankful for the brief stop. Tienayu picked up a deck of cards from her saddle bag and began to hum as they ran fluidly in her hands.

"The trick to playing poker is to keep a straight face during the entire game," she explained casually, "Or you can just exaggerate your personality…which is what I do. In your case I think that by exaggerating your personality you could keep the best straight face."

Zuko scowled. He really didn't appreciate the joke at his expense.

Tienayu cleared her throat and hastily added, "I'm joking, Azulo, don't blow up on me."

"I wasn't going to," Zuko lied.

"Good. Now, continuing; you have to be a good liar."

Zuko couldn't help the smirk that appeared across his face: that was one aspect of this game he could definitely guarantee. He could lie.

Tienayu plopped the shuffled deck in front of the young firebender, "Cut."

Zuko frowned, "What?"

Tienayu blinked twice in confusion before answering, "Oh! Cutting is just when you take half the cards of the deck and shift them to the bottom. It's a safe guard against cheating, which is extremely common in a game of poker."

Zuko shrugged and quickly cut the deck, "You don't have to worry about me cheating: I don't cheat."

Tienayu smiled, "I never doubted that you would, but who's to say I won't?"

The exiled Fire Prince was startled at her words. He had never met anyone like this blue eyed girl before. Not even his uncle would so boldly tell him that he was planning to cheat. Though Zuko was strongly of the opinion that his uncle cheating every time in the game of Pai Sho. His uncle had never had really strong morals; if that incident at the abbey with the stolen perfume was an indicator at all.

"So, first I give out the five cards," Tienayu said lightly as she allocated the cards in the deck.

Zuko looked through his five cards. Two aces. He looked over the top of his cards at Tienayu, who was running her eyes across her cards with a casual, almost bored, look.

"Now, if we were playing for money we would place our first bet: the bet that essential pays for you to change in your cards. So, since we definitely aren't going to play for money, as I wouldn't want to leave you penniless…"

Zuko found the comment absolutely hilarious.

"…We'll just won't and say we did. How many cards do you want?"

Zuko held on to his pair of aces; with a small bit of luck maybe he could get another two.

"Three."

Tienayu handed him his three cards and he couldn't help the annoyance that surged through him at seeing the five, six and eight. The same cards he had before.

"Right, so, after this we would place our final bet. So, reviewing: there are three bets. One at the beginning, the 'do you want to play' bet. One after the distribution of the cards, the 'I think I want to continue playing' bet. And this finally bet, the 'now you have all your cards, bet like crazy and win something' bet. Understood?"

Zuko nodded, still aggravated by his measly pair of aces.

"Good, now, after this bet, which of course, we won't place, we show our cards."

Tienayu placed her cards down. Flush: five, six, seven, eight and nine. He couldn't compare with his pair of aces.

"I have a feeling that I'm never going to win a game of poker against you," Zuko admitted.

Tienayu laughed, "This is your first play! Are you going to give up so soon?"

"I also have a feeling I am not going to like this game."

Tienayu kept on smiling, "You're just saying that because you lost."

"Maybe I am."

"I thought so."

"Who taught you how to play poker?"

Tienayu suddenly looked down at the ground, her cheery mood dampened for the first time that day.

Zuko regretted asking the question. There were just so many painful memories, and it was so hard to avoid them.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" Zuko began.

Tienayu looked up, shaking her head, "No, don't worry about it, it's a fair question."

Zuko still felt hesitant and slightly guilty, but he said nothing else; noticing she was about to speak.

Tienayu shifted on the grass, making herself comfortable, "It's kind of a long story. You see, I lived in a hidden…um…town. We were far away from all other inhabited areas, a location that was established in hopes of avoiding all contacts with the Fire Nation."

Zuko felt offense rush through him; his nation had honor and would never attack a village with women and children. The founders of her village were wrong to believe the Fire Nation would fall so low as to attack them.

"It was also set around certain morals, and those morals prohibited all games of chance. A pity, as I had great potential."

Zuko snorted.

Tienayu's cobalt eyes sparkled in laugher, "Hey, I really am a great player."

"I never said otherwise."

Tienayu rolled her eyes, a smile once more on her face, "You are such a sore loser. Anyways, continuing: my mother, I still haven't figured out how, had been taught in her youth how to play used to stage small games with me, a night of course, so nobody would catch us. It was essential that nobody catch us, for if it was known that I had played poker I would have broken the essential rules that we lived by, and would have been banished. But, as I have said before, and will repeat again so you get used to the idea; I am a great poker player and I soon outgrew playing with my mother. So I came to know Tang. He was a refugee from another town, and by far, the most able poker player I have ever met. You have to understand, the town I lived in was open to all those who sought refuge from the Fire Nation's attacks. Most of them came from towns that had been utterly destroyed by the Fire troops: their houses turned to ashes, their families killed…everyone had some loss. One couple had lost their three children, they were only infants, to the Fire Nation troops; they were killed, trapped inside their burning house."

Zuko stood up abruptly. He couldn't take her lies anymore.

"That is a LIE!" he seethed.

Tienayu seemed surprised at his sudden behavior but stood up as well, facing him.

"Why would I lie?"

Zuko ran into the forest, his shoed feet flying across the rumble of the forest floor.

The Fire Nation was honorable. The Fire Nation would never kill children. The Fire Nation would never destroy houses. It only fought well prepared troops. Zuko repeated the phrases in his head like a mantra, trying to fight the stinging words that had come from Tienayu's mouth. She was lying! She couldn't be telling the truth. His father would never allow the Fire Nation to fall that low. Never. The Fire Nation was honorable. The Fire Nation would never perform those cruelties. She was lying. She was not from the Fire Nation, a citizen from the Fire Nation would know that untrue. Would know that their Nation only fought the war to assert their rightful rule over the other weaker Nations. The Fire Nation was more advanced; it was fulfilling its role as the superior Nation by taking over the other less developed Nations and showing them how to progress. It had to be true. And what she said had to be a lie.

Zuko didn't notice the tear that fell from his unscarred eye as he ran faster, the wind whistling by his ear.

_One couple had lost their three children, they were only infants, to the Fire Nation troops; they were killed, trapped inside their burning house._

The young firebender ran faster, letting a burst of red fire crash with the earth beneath his feet.

…_all those who sought refuge from the Fire Nation's attacks._

The branches flew past him, the blazing rays of the potent sun burning through the forest canopy, washing the world in white light.

…_towns that had been utterly destroyed by the Fire troops: their houses turned to ashes, their families killed._

The howling wind raced past his ears, pushing him to run faster, ignoring the exhaustion sweeping through him. All he knew was that he couldn't stop. That he didn't want to stop.

…_A location that was established in hopes of avoiding all contacts with the Fire Nation._

The exiled prince felt as his legs gave out from underneath him. In a final effort he breathed fire, mixing the orange flames with his cry before he fell to the ground, his world disappearing before him.

Ψ

AneleTiger.


	8. Under the Infinite Stars

_**A/N:** Another chapter to enjoy, and this one is long. So no complaining ;). We are certainly making progress now; both Tienayu's and Zuko's secrets are starting to slowly unravel. So, like always, remember the three Rs: review, review and review:) An applause as big as a platypus-bear for: _BioDragon, storm-of-insanity, Lionessmon, fresh air9, arisu's smile, AgniKaiKyoshi, and TheDarkenedPhoenix_! You guys are great! I really do appreciate your comments and always do my best to respond to them. Now, without much ado: chapter VII!_

_**Disclaimer:** Neither Avatar: the Last Airbender (or Avatar: the Legend of Aang, as they call it in Britain) nor any of the characters in it belong to me…grumble._

Ψ

Chapter VII: Under the Infinite Stars

She was the one that found him. It was late. The sun had departed from the infinite sky, replaced by the pale face of the silver moon. The banished prince sat motionless on the forest floor, his legs crossed and his eyes closed in meditation.

"Azulo?"

Zuko flinched visibly at the name. It wasn't his. It was his sister's name. A name he never wanted to hear. He wished he could just forget her cold smile, her calculating eyes. He wished he could forget everything.

He breathed in deeply.

Tienayu crouched in front of him, and Zuko could sense her warm blue eyes on him. For a few moments she said nothing, and then, with hesitation she placed her hand on his shoulder. He didn't tense, but instead relaxed at her touch.

He exhaled.

"Azulo isn't your real name, isn't it?" It wasn't a question.

Zuko didn't open his eyes; he just shook his head in assent.

She once again became silent, and Zuko noted with relief that she didn't ask him what his real name was. He didn't think he could lie to her again. The soft noises of the night grew around them, but neither one seemed slightly fazed.

Tienayu's voice broke through the veil of night, "I'm sorry for my words before. I should have been more considerate of what you have probably been through."

Fire Prince Zuko would have risen up to the challenge, fuming at her insinuation of his weakness. But Zuko remained motionless on the forest floor, his breathing even, and his body temperature stable.

"I'm sorry," Tienayu finished, her voice sincere.

For the first time, Zuko opened his amber eyes taking in the sight of Tienayu before him, "You don't have to apologize. My reaction was..." he searched for the right word, "impulsive. I am the one who should apologize. I'm sorry."

Tienayu seemed slightly surprised at his words, but then smiled. Silence fell around them again, but it was a comfortable silence. What had to be said had been said. No more words were needed. Tienayu sat down quietly beside Zuko, and both glanced at each other for a moment. Gold and Blue. Zuko felt something he had never felt before run quickly through his body. Like a shock of electricity. It was her eyes, her deep eyes that hid so much. And then they turned their gaze to the blue moon above them.

_The beautiful lady turned her face upwards towards the full moon, smiling as the silver light illuminated her face. She closed her dark eyes and breathed in the quiet aroma of the white water lilies, the delicate jasmine vines. From far away a lonely nightingale sung a low chord into the boundless sky, letting it fade into the stars. The woman moved her warm eyes down to the small boy at her side, catching his amber gaze with her own. _

_The boy frowned slightly, perplexed, "Mother, why are we out here? Father said that the moon weakens us. He said firebenders should only live in the sun, and that the moon is a worthless sphere."_

_The mother smiled, "Do you feel weak?"_

_Her son dropped his eyes in concentration as he thought over her question. The water in the small pond shimmered, as if covered in a veil of the thinnest, silver ice._

"_No," he finally responded, his voice lighting with a new knowledge._

_The lady blinked contently, "One cannot gage or define weakness or strength. For there cannot be one without the other. Weakness is not the absence of strength, nor is strength the absence of weakness. Would you say the moon is weak? Its light is not as powerful as the sun, that is true, but maybe it doesn't want to be as powerful as the sun. Maybe the moon prefers to light the sky with its shower of silver. There is no such thing as weakness, just as there is no such thing as strength. There is only the choice to act as one wishes to act, and the choice to be as one desires to be."_

_A white fish splashed in the pond, chased by a black fish. The two teased and played, pushed and pulled and finally turned together in a circle, balancing each other in peace._

_The boy appeared to store this information inside him, to mull over it later, when the sun had risen and he could compare the choice of the moon to the choice of the sun. The slender woman softly placed a hand on her son's shoulder, turning his attention towards the sky with her pointing finger._

"_Can you see the stars?" she asked._

_The black haired boy nodded._

"_What do you think of them?"_

"_I like them. So many of them in the black sky; I like to trace pictures in them, and find the biggest ones, and then the smallest ones," the small boy answered, his voice slightly awed as his eyes took in the glory of the night sky._

_The mother's placid voice filled the heavens, "The stars are always in the sky, at day and at night, they never leave. Have you seen the stars when the sun is out?"_

_The boy's answer was unsure, and hesitant, "No…"_

"_Neither have I," the black haired woman assured him, "You can't see the stars during the day. The sun shines too powerfully, emits too much light for us to see them. But, at night, the moon's light is softer and allows us to count the stars in the sky."_

_The boy hesitated, his gold eyes veiled. Then, with a growing smile the boy looked up at his mother. And she knew he understood._

Zuko rolled over in frustration. He couldn't sleep. They had walked back to camp and he had been surprised to find that Tienayu had already started a fire, a surprise since he had learned she was horrible at starting fires. After having eaten, they had both gotten comfortable on his one measly sleeping bag. Tienayu had instantly fallen asleep.

But Zuko found sleep ever elusive.

He exhaled in irritation, rolling over for the thousandth time, trying to find a comfortable position. He glared at the night sky, bored out of his mind, with nothing to do, and absolutely no way to fall asleep. He resorted to scrutinizing Tienayu's sleeping form beside him. She was definitely asleep; her soft even breathing and the almost undetectable rise and fall of her chest told him that much.

She looked beautiful in the moonlight.

The thought had escaped him before he could stop it, leaving him speechless as to where it came from. Zuko shook his head, trying to banish it from his mind. But he couldn't deny it. The moonlight contrasted with her smooth skin, lighting her straight, dark hair fanned around her face. Her long dark eyelashes rested lightly on her cheeks, and her hands were hugged around her body as she shuddered. Zuko frowned, and looked at her closely. She was shivering. He hadn't noticed it was cold; he had been subconsciously raising his body temperature to keep himself warm. Carefully, as to not wake her up, he placed his hands on each of her shoulders. Her skin was cold to the touch. He stole a glance at her face, afraid he had woken her. She didn't move, only mumbled slightly in her sleep. Concentrating, he increased the temperature of his hands, sending warmth into her cold body. She stopped shuddering, and her lips curved upwards in an almost imperceptible smile. Zuko felt relief flow through him when she didn't wake up. He wasn't really sure he wanted her to wake up right then.

It was then that her smile turned into a frown, her brow furrowed. A small noise came from her lips, and her face turned into a mask of fright and uneasiness.

"No…" she muttered, her body twitching slightly, trying to shake off Zuko's hands.

Zuko instantly let go of her shoulders, moving away from her.

"No…don't…no…" the words were becoming clearer now.

Another shudder of fear passed through her body, and her hands suddenly moved to cover her wrists.

Her words were getting progressively louder, but she was caught in her deep sleep, "No…I can't…I don't…please...no…"

She was clutching her wrists, the knuckles on her hands white under the strain. Zuko didn't know what to do. She was caught in a nightmare. Maybe a memory. And she wasn't waking up. Her hands were turning slightly blue. Instinctively, Zuko struggled to take her hands away from her wrists, trying to prevent her from harming herself.

"No! Let go…don't!" she cried, her eyes shut tightly.

He managed to take her hands from her slight wrists and gasped at what he found. Burn marks, scars, on each wrist. In the shape of a hand. Zuko felt anger course through him. Only one type of person could have done that to her. Firebenders. He felt nauseated, and found he had trouble breathing. Firebenders had hurt her. Firebenders. He was a firebender. He could have been the one who had hurt her. The thought send him reeling.

She was struggling more forcibly now, and her muttered words were becoming screams in the night.

Zuko wretched his eyes away from the scars on her wrists.

"NO! DON'T KILL THEM!" came her final scream.

Her eyes flew open and she sat upright, an expression of pure terror on her features. Zuko stood a few feet away from her, his ears ringing with her last spoken words.

_NO! DON'T KILL THEM!_

Firebenders had killed someone. He was a firebender. He felt like he was drowning, caught underneath the waves of the endless ocean.

The Fire Nation is honorable. It would never kill without a reason.

But he couldn't convince himself. The War Council was ruthless. The War Council had sacrificed an entire regiment in order to win a battle. If they were so willing to lose the lives of more than a hundred firebenders would they stop at senselessly killing earthbenders, airbenders, waterbenders?

Zuko shook the constricting thoughts from his head, and breathed in the night air desperately, trying to banish the agonizing and stinging thoughts.

"You had a nightmare," he spoke softly to Tienayu.

She turned to look at him, her indigo eyes wide with fear. Upon settling on him the fear seemed to diminish slightly, and she shivered in the cold night breeze.

"I'm…I'm.." she breathed in, trying to still the tremble of her voice, "I'm sorry if I woke you up."

Zuko couldn't take his eyes off her shaking form, "I was already awake. You didn't wake me."

"Did I say anything in my sleep?" she suddenly asked, a faint trace of alarm in her voice.

She didn't want him to know. She didn't want to tell him who they had killed. She didn't want to tell him who had hurt her.

"No. You just screamed," Zuko lied.

Tienayu let out an audible breath, her shape relaxing. Silence fell down around them, and Zuko felt the air humming with the many questions he wanted to ask her. But he couldn't ask her.

"I don't think I'm going to be able to go to sleep," Tienayu whispered.

"Me neither."

Another moment of silence, disturbed only by the soft cry of the owl.

"Um…" Tienayu began, slightly embarrassed, "Could you sit beside me…it's just that…I don't know, but…could you?"

Zuko felt mildly surprised, but sat down beside her, "Sure."

Tienayu smiled a weak smile at him, her blue eyes slightly veiled by her long eyelashes. Zuko felt that the electric shock run through him again. Leaving an odd feeling he didn't know how to describe. The wind rustled the canopy of the forest, sending a breeze through the clearing. Tienayu let her head fall to rest comfortably on Zuko's shoulder, her breathing becoming even once again.

"_I _refuse _to wear this."_

_The young man stood at in the middle of a large chamber, decorated with hints of gold flecks. A larger man looked him over, his grey eyes glinting in amusement at the boy's harassed expression._

"_You look quite fetching, nephew," the boy's uncle offered, his lips trying to not to betray a large grin._

_The boy growled and shook his legs, as if trying to throw off the deep red robe covered in black curves of the most expensive satin, "Do not mock me, uncle."_

"_I'm not mocking you at all, Prince," his uncle assured, a small chuckle escaping his lips by accident._

_The Prince glared at him, his gold eyes burning with humiliation, "I feel like an overdressed doll."_

_Once more, the older man attempted to keep a straight face, "Nonsense, trust me when I tell you that the robe compliments you."_

"_That's what I feared," the boy muttered darkly, pulling at the high collar of the elegant robe._

"_You will do me the favor of telling my father that I will not attend tonight's ball. I suddenly find myself ill," the boy said louder, moving towards another room, his hands already untying the sash around his waist._

"_I will do no such thing," his uncle said sternly, "You spend too much time by yourself, and that is hardly healthy for a growing man like you. You will attend tonight's ball. Maybe you'll meet a nice young woman that is crazy enough to spend time with you."_

_The boy looked beleaguered at his uncle's words, "I don't want to meet anyone, least of all a girl who will bore me with the tales of a thousand and one kimonos."_

"_Not all women are like that, nephew," his uncle reprimanded him._

_The boy turned on his uncle, his eyes firm, "All the girls at court are."_

_His uncle struggled for a decisive riposte, but then let out a hearty chortle, "You are very observant, nephew. But don't think that not going to a ball will get you out of finding that girl. Because you'll meet her. Someday. Hopefully before I push up daisies."_

_The boy brushed away the words, quickly moving to remove the offending fabric from his skin._

_His uncle looked pensive, muttering things under his breath, only one word coherent._

"_Someday."_

Zuko decided to take a swim in the river that morning, taking advantage of the meditative state which Tienayu had fallen under since last night. He couldn't sit beside her in that thick silence anymore. Whenever his eyes fell on her his mind hummed with unasked questions and his eyes couldn't help but drop, as if they were laden with lead, to her marked wrists. He ripped off his shirt and slipped into the clear cold water of the river. It rushed by him, freezing his body. He hated the cold. Within a few moments the water around him was steaming, the thin wisps of vapor rising into the crisp morning air.

But he couldn't get her screams out of his mind, her wide frightened blue eyes.

He swam to the other side of the river in a few swift strokes. He took pride in his ability to swim: not many firebenders were capable. His uncle was the one he had to thank; it had been his uncle's idea and instruction that had initiated the swimming lessons and allowed him to progress.

His mind wandered and fell once more on Tienayu.

She wasn't a firebender. That much he could deduct from her cold skin and the clear burns that scarred her slender wrists. She wasn't a citizen of the Fire Nation.

So, what was she?

An earthbender? Why was she wandering alone in the desert? Why was _he_ alone?

He couldn't answer. He could only guess and doubt. He wouldn't ask her.

Just like she couldn't find out he was a firebender.

"_Of all four elements, can you tell me which is the most powerful?" a more corpulent man asked, his face expectant. He sat comfortably on the polished black wood of the open chamber. A fresh summer breeze traveled lazily around the pavilion, the circular roof, simply carved, offering shade from the powerful sun. The man's grey eyes were fixed on the youth sitting cross legged before him._

"_Fire," the boy answered immediately, no doubt in his voice._

_The grey eyed man shook his head forcefully at the answer, closing his eyes, "No! No! No!"_

_The boy's amber eyes fell on the dark wood beneath him, his expression confused. When he looked up he noticed his uncle's eyes on him, considering. The black haired boys meet them, asking them why his answer had been wrong._

_His uncle looked out at the garden, "Nephew, have you seen the blossoms today?"_

_The boy nodded, following his uncle's gaze._

"_So many flowers in one garden. There is the fire rose, the water lily, the valley lilac, the orange orchid, and the simple white daisy. They are all beautiful in there own right, certainly, but, don't you find that they are much more beautiful all together? All the colors together. All the shapes together. Their diversity is what makes them so attractive," the grey haired man smiled contently, the corners of his eyes wrinkling, "Now, can you tell me what element is the most powerful, nephew?"_

_The youth nodded, looking over the garden._

"_No element is more powerful than the rest. Only when used together do they become the most powerful."_

_His uncle nodded. _

A scream pierced the serene morning, the cry mingled with surprise and frustration.

Zuko tensed in the water. His ears alert.

There it was again, the same scream, this time louder, echoing off the crown of the many trees and frightening the birds. The scream was no longer in surprise, but a cry of despair.

Tienayu.

Zuko jumped out of the warm water, not bothering to grab his shirt before taking off into the forest, his bare feet flying across the ground.

Another scream. Zuko felt his heart drop when it was cut off in the middle, the forest falling silent once again. The birds settled once more into the trees.

He ran faster, the water that had covered his body evaporated by his raised temperature. He strained to hear another scream, another yell, maybe even a whisper, but he heard nothing, just the odd stillness that had fallen upon the forest.

Then he heard them.

The earth trembled underneath him and jutted out into the air, trapping him in a cage. The earthbenders fell from above, landing solidly in the circle created by the giant stones. Two men, their faces weathered with many battles. The one to the right smiled sourly at him, cracking his knuckles while the other prepared his stance, his toned body ready to bend the stubborn earth.

"Come to get your girlfriend, boy?" the smiling earthbender asked, his white teeth glinting.

Zuko felt himself tense. Tienayu was _not_ his girlfriend. He would never….she was…they…like he would think…the mere idea itself was preposterous. He breathed in deep and cast a glance around him. There were two of them, and he was only one. But he was Fire Prince Zuko. He had been drilled to fight. He could win.

"I don't care about the girl," Zuko hissed, preparing his stance.

But, a part of his mind spoke up, why rescue her if you don't care about her?

Zuko couldn't answer.

One of the earthbenders noticed the slight shift of Zuko's back foot, "Don't try anything, boy. You are nothing against us."

Zuko felt a smirk come to rest upon his lips, "I don't think so."

He couldn't use fire. They would take note, and he couldn't afford to be identified. He breathed in, finding control and balance in his breathing. And he began.

Zuko rushed towards them, his speed enhanced by invisible fireballs on the soles of his feet. The earthbenders cried out in surprise, but too late. He jumped into the air, twirling around and firmly kicking both men to the ground. Zuko fell back to the ground and his arms dropped into position, right on time to counteract the stones whizzing towards him. He fell to the floor, sweeping his foot out and breaking the earthbender's stance. The man fell back, the earth in his hands becoming one with the ground again. Zuko flew to his feet, and blocked the other man's fist, quickly twisting around to avoid the other hand. A stone flew by his face, catching him on the shoulder. Zuko hissed at the momentary pain, the thin cut starting to bleed. He quickly fought back, moving amazingly fast, his moves carefully planned so that it looked from afar as if he were caught in a wild dance. The other earthbender rose, lifting the earth around him to cover himself in stones. He advanced towards Zuko, his heavy steps sinking him into the padded earth. Zuko bent back, avoiding the earthbender's stone covered fist. He sweep his feet around him, sidestepping and falling back. Zuko smiled when the giant stone covered fighter wobbled and tipped over, falling to the ground in a deafening rumble of earth. He punched the boulder that flew towards him, reducing it to a thousand pieces. The other earthbender growled from afar, stomping the earth and sending boulders of earth soaring towards the young firebender. Zuko blocked the boulders, kicking them in the air.

But he didn't notice a third earthbender as he fell from the trees above him, bringing down his heavy club over the Fire Prince's head.

Ψ

_**Survey:** I was curious, what can I say? So I decided to ask you guys a question: What do you think Tienayu is? – a) A non-bender b) A waterbender c) An earthbender d) A firebender e) An airbender. Please tell me what you think in your reviews, and maybe we'll find out soon… :)_

AneleTiger.


	9. The Words of a Captive

_**A/N:** What happened to Zuko? Where is Tienayu? And why did the earthbenders capture them? We have a lot of questions to answer, don't we?:) Well, I guess that you'll have to read to find out! And review if you want more chapters. For all of those wonderful people that reviewed and participated in the survey, offer yourself a trip to the beautiful Serengeti of Tanzania! A big applause to all those faithful reviewers who have been keeping up with all those bumps along the way: _storm-of-insanity, fresh air9, BioDragon, Lionessmon, arisu's smile, and TheDarkenedPhoenix. _And we can't forget the new reviewers as well:_ Lt. Commander Richie, and Evanescence Wannabe! _You are all wonderful!_

_**Disclaimer:** Neither Avatar: the Last Airbender (or Avatar: the Legend of Aang, as they call it in Britain) nor any of the characters in it belong to me…sigh._

Ψ

Chapter VIII: The Words of a Captive

_Silence resounded through the training arena, spreading into the depths of the afternoon. The non-existent wind whispered through the air, wrapping around the two lonely figures. The sun shone down heavily on the boy and girl that stood on opposite sides of the fighting ring, their identical amber eyes never losing contact with each other. The girl smiled coldly, as she walked casually around the ring, her red lips turned upwards into a malicious smile._

"_You are a _fool_ to think you can beat me," she taunted, her eyes narrowed._

_The boy paid no head to her words, his feet set solidly into a steady stance, and his lean body tense as he waited for her attack._

_A ridiculing laugh came from the girl's lips, "I am a firebending prodigy, and you, you struggle to learn the basics."_

_Once again the black haired boy was deaf to the younger girl's words, his feet gliding fluidly on the sandy ground as he moved to keep himself opposite of the walking girl._

"_I find it humiliating to have to fight you, dear brother" the girl added, her voice degrading her brother._

'_But, if I do, I guess I'll have to do it properly," she finished, her voice falling to a content hiss._

_She launched herself at him, her figure obscured by the white hot fire that lashed from her hands and feet. The boy blocked the onslaught, trying to maintain his stance as he waited for an opening to begin an offensive._

_But it never came. _

_His sister gathered all her strength about her, compressing the power into a tight ball of pure energy in her hand. The blue electricity outshone the sun, making the training arena reflect its eerie blue light. With a final smirk the unleashed the power on her brother, who was forced to fall back out of the circle to avoid the crackling deadly blue flames. _

"_How pitiful," the girl spit as she stood over her brother, a victorious smile on her face._

_The boy looked up at the cold girl, his amber eyes determined._

"_Again."_

Zuko was thrown unceremoniously to the hard concrete floor, the unforgiving earth coming up to meet him. The Fire Prince was startled into consciousness by the reverberating noise of a large door slamming shut behind him. He groaned at the sudden pain that sparked up at the back of his head and shut his eyes tightly, trying to remember why his head was throbbing. The firebender emitted a quiet growl of frustration as it all came rushing back to him.

He had fought.

And he had lost.

Zuko growled again. It hadn't been a fair fight; there had been more then two, and he hadn't seen the other. He hadn't been given a chance. His thoughts were interrupted by slight, almost imperceptible vibrations on the concrete floor. Footsteps. Someone was coming towards him. He attempted to move, but found he couldn't. Tightly tied ropes were coiled around him, restricting his movements.

"Don't try to move, it'll only make the ropes wrap around you tighter," a soft voice instructed him.

Tienayu.

He opened his amber eyes to find her slender fingers untying the many ropes fixed around him. She looked up at him, and he noticed that she sported a shining bruise on her temple. Anger rushed through him and the sudden desire to burn the person who had done that to her to a crisp implanted itself in him.

She smiled softly at him, wincing slightly, "I see you noticed the kind greeting our earthbender friends gave me."

"What happened?" Zuko asked, trying to bury the odd anger inside him.

Tienayu frowned as she looked for a way to untie the knots around him, "They came out of the trees, throwing stones and boulders at me. There were at least five of them. I tried to keep them at bay, but I guess someone knocked me out from behind."

Zuko absorbed the information, his gold eyes clouded.

"What on earth did you do?" Tienayu suddenly exclaimed, dropping the knot she had been working on, "These knots are impossible!"

Zuko could help but feel happy that they had deemed him such a threat, "I fought back."

Tienayu looked up at him, a grin on her face, "I guess you're someone to be reckoned with."

She looked back down at the many knots and tucked a loose strand of her straight dark hair behind her ears as she plunged back to work on untying him. Zuko felt useless; with his hands held back there was no way he could help her undo the complex bonds. He let his eyes wander around the small dark cell they were held in. There were no windows, and the only light that illuminated the humid black of the cell came from the small opening on the door, an opening crossed with hard iron bars. There was no escape. The walls were as smooth as the concrete floor and there were no cracks or holes visible. Irritated at the idea of being kept in a cell by a couple of incompetent earthbenders, he turned his attention back to Tienayu's progress at undoing his bonds, vaguely noticing that his shirt had somehow been placed on him again.

"Did they tell you why we're here?" Zuko suddenly asked.

Tienayu shrugged, managing to undo a large knot, "No, I can only guess."

Zuko felt a cold feeling invade him. Azula. She had found him. But why would she associate with earthbenders?

"Done!" Tienayu exclaimed, as she let his hands free.

Zuko pulled all the ropes off of him and stood up, stretching all of the cricks out of his body. Tienayu leaned back on the smooth grey wall, wrapping her arms around her knees.

"There is no way out, I already looked," she told him, her voice resigned.

Zuko acknowledged her words, walking towards the door. He looked out through the bars, only to make out a long dark hallway lined with many flaming torches. The torches around him flared as he snorted; aggravated at his predicament.

Tienayu spoke up again, "It's an Earth Kingdom prison hold; a public judging by the scale of it. This must be the lower level of the prison, because the air is weak and used. The only way out is the door. The door can only be opened by earthbending, performed by one who happens to be the largest earthbender I have ever seen, which certainly does not encourage any attacks towards him."

Zuko sank down beside her, impressed by her quick analysis of the situation.

"But, I think we have a very good chance at escaping," she finished, giving him a winning grin. She winced slightly at the strain and rubbed her bruised temple, trying to alleviate the pain.

"How?" Zuko asked, his amber eyes questioning her.

"If this is a public prison, which I am sure it is, as no private prison would posses such a large number of holding cells in this state, then they must at some point take us out of this cell to give us a fair trial, as is custom in the Earth Kingdom."

Zuko immediately caught on to her trail of thought, "You expect the court to be an open court."

Tienayu nodded, her cobalt eyes twinkling, "And, if it is an open court, then there has to be large windows for the people to see into, and a door or two."

"We'll attempt our escape after the charges have been pressed, then the guards will feel more comfortable to let us be, as they will feel that we will be the court's responsibility after that point," Zuko set forth.

Tienayu nodded, "We'll escape to the right; the window will be closest to us there."

"The rest we'll have to do as we go along," Zuko finished.

Tienayu looked up at the bare ceiling, "Yup."

A comfortable silence fell down upon them. Tienayu hummed lightly as she undid her long straight hair and ran her fingers through it, taking out all the tangles with her slim fingers. Zuko found he couldn't take his eyes away from her, his thoughts a mess of feelings and questions. He tried to sort them out, but he just couldn't. She was just such a puzzle, a mystery. One moment he thought he had her figured out. And then she would look at him with those indigo eyes of hers and he would be lost again, lost in their many facets and veils that hid who she really was.

_The young man leaned stiffly on the side of the iron ship, his face set in a scowl as he looked up at the clouded night sky. The stars were hidden from sight, and the moon's face wasn't visible in the night. The young man's scowl intensified and he angrily threw a flaming fireball into the black sea beneath him._

"_I wouldn't do that, nephew. Throwing fire at the sea won't make the skies clear," a smiling older man leaned on the railing beside him._

_The gold eyed youth glared at the sky._

"_Hey, maybe that should be a proverb," the grey haired man muttered under his breath, chuckling slightly._

"_I don't need your proverbs now, uncle," the young man snapped._

"_If I actually listened to what you say, nephew, I wouldn't have an opportunity to say any proverbs," his uncle stated, an air of indignation about him._

_The youth said nothing, but just stared out to the undetermined horizon, his eyes losing their anger to fade into an ever-present sadness. His uncle's smile vanished to be replaced by a fatherly look of concern._

"_You carry too much responsibility for a 16 year old," the uncle sighed, "You should retire; you need your rest."_

"_I don't need sleep, uncle," the youth stated._

_Just then he wavered, and almost fell back, to be caught by his uncle, who raised his eyebrows._

"_Everyone needs rest, and apparently you most of all," he said firmly._

"_But what if the Avatar flies by? What if I miss him?" the youth struggled to get up again._

"_I'll stand guard. Now, go and get some rest before you fall overboard," the older man assured._

_The young man didn't smile, but his grateful eyes were all his uncle needed to see._

Tienayu sighed, tapping her fingers on her knee in impatience, "They sure take a long time around here in giving someone a trial."

Zuko opened one of his eyes to look at her, and smirked slightly. "The fattest worm always goes to the patient bird," he quoted.

Tienayu grimaced, "What a great incentive."

"It should be," Zuko stated.

Tienayu shot him an indignant smile, "Are you making fun of me?"

"I wouldn't dare."

"You're just bored and have nothing better to do," Tienayu said triumphantly.

Zuko gave her an insulted look, "I have a lot of things to do."

"Really? Then name one."

Zuko glanced up at the ceiling and Tienayu looked at him, an eyebrow raised in waiting, quickly wincing at the caused pain.

"I have to mentally prepare myself for our escape," Zuko invented.

Tienayu snorted, "What are you going to do? Meditate?"

"Actually, I am accustomed to meditating two hours a day," Zuko shot back at her.

Tienayu looked at him, incredulous, "You're pulling my leg."

"Why would I?"

"You mediate _two hours_ a day? And I thought it was bad when…" suddenly she fell silent, a lost look taking over her features.

Zuko frowned and moved closer to her, "When what?"

She raised her dark blue eyes to him, "Nothing…it's just…"

Zuko waited patiently for the rest of the words.

She took a deep breath, "My teacher. She used to tell me to meditate."

_NO! DON'T KILL THEM!_

Her teacher was dead. Zuko felt his soul constrict at the sad and forlorn look in her eyes. And he once again felt hate and anger towards those who had done the act. Who had disgraced their Nation. Who had killed. Who had caused her so much pain.

"Let's meditate," he suddenly spoke up.

Tienayu turned to look at him, a surprised look in her eyes. Zuko sat cross legged in the middle of the room, and motioned Tienayu to sit opposite of him. She kept his eyes on him, but mimicked his motion and situated herself on the grey concrete. Like a rehearsal, she instantly shut her eyes tight and tightly shut her hands into fists, placing them together in front of her. Zuko almost laughed out loud at her tense state. A very odd feeling as he couldn't really remember the last time he had truly laughed. He could only remember laughing way back, when the pirate's ship had been taken away under their very noses. Of course, that humor had been cut close when he realized his own ship was being taken away under his very nose. Shaking his head, Zuko moved across the space between him and Tienayu and placed his fingers over her eyes. They flew open and stared at him, startled. So blue. He felt the shock of electricity run through him, but ignored it, storing it in the back of his mind to mull over it later.

"Don't shut them so tightly," he instructed.

Tienayu relaxed her face, letting her eyes close gently, her dark eyelashes caressing her cheeks.

"You're too tense," Zuko told her, "Your knuckles are white."

Her hands detached themselves, loose and calm.

Zuko retreated back to his position and sat cross-legged, observing her from underneath his eyes. She was calm, but every time she breathed she seemed to struggle, as if she were fighting something. Something unseen.

Zuko closed his eyes and breathed in deeply.

And then exhaled.

_The small boy ran through the fields, the wind wrapping itself around him. The sun shone down from above, lighting the delicate gardens with its light. The many flowers turned their faces towards its glory, smiling shyly behind their colored petals. A strangled shriek escaped form the boy as the beautiful woman who had been chasing him pounced on him, wrapping her arms around him as her clear laugh rang into the warm noon air._

"_I caught you! I caught you!" she laughed, raising the boy into the air._

_The black haired boy laughed contently and hugged the woman close._

_The woman smiled and kind smile and kissed her son firmly on the temple. The boy yawned and leaned his small head on her shoulder, his small hands clutching his mother's finger tightly inside them._

"_I love you," she whispered in his ear._

_The boy smiled in his sleep._

Zuko's hand reached out quickly to catch the approaching hand. He exhaled as he opened his eyes, to be faced with Tienayu's apologetic face.

"I'm sorry," she smiled weakly, "It's just that; you've been meditating for three hours straight."

His hand was wrapped around her wrist. Zuko felt cold invade him. Her wrist. Her wrist, marked with the angry burns. Just like his face. He instantly let go of her wrist, and found he had trouble getting his breathing normal once again. She was marked. He was marked. By angry fire. And he was a firebender.

"Are you okay?" she asked quizzically, looking at him through worried eyes.

He didn't answer her. Standing up, he stretched and then proceeded to walk around the small dark cell a few times, getting his blood flowing after meditation, trying to shake away the disturbing thoughts from his mind. Tienayu sat down, her back against the wall, and blew a piece of hair out of her face. The still air of the cell resounded only with Zuko's pacing steps.

"This is a lot better than last time," she whispered.

Zuko stopped, and turned his gold eyes to her slim shape in the shadows.

"Last time?" he echoed.

Tienayu looked up at him, her face covered in shadows, "Yes, last time."

He could move. His feet were rooted to the ground, and his eyes couldn't detach themselves from her shadowy face. Her eyes, marked with emotions he couldn't decipher. Emotions he couldn't tell apart from each other as they swirled together in a violent tornado of memories.

"Have you ever been held prisoner?" she asked, her eyes never leaving his.

Zuko looked away, his face hidden from her, "You could say so."

There was a still silence.

Her voice was as silent as the night breeze, passing quietly through the dark grass, "They tortured me. They held me for days, weeks, maybe months. I thought I was dead."

Zuko swirled around to look at her, his eyes widening and his face opening at the pain and suffering in her words. The fear that was still held in them.

Tienayu let her face fall into her hands, and her long straight hair fell forward, hiding her from the world. His feet walked by themselves. He didn't know why he did it; if anyone asked him, he wouldn't have been able to explain why. But he sat down beside her, hesitantly resting his hand on her shoulder. Tienayu didn't tense. She looked up at him, her eyes locking with his. Gold and blue.

"It's so hard to forget," she whispered.

"I know."

"They're always there."

"I know."

"Thank you."

"For understanding," Zuko whispered back.

Ψ

_**Survey:** We still don't know what Tienayu is, and so the suspense builds. Here is a tally chart of all the votes for the last chapter:_

_Water: 4 ----- Earth: 0 ----- Fire: 0 ----- Air: 2 ----- Non: 3_

_So we have a close tie between waterbender and non-bender. No fire, but no earth as well. Hm…Well, I guess you'll just have to read and find out! Don't forget to review, and do include if you changed your mind on Tienayu's bending skills, and finally, have a Happy Thanksgiving!_

AneleTiger


	10. The Fury of the Wind

_**A/N:** First of all, let me excuse myself for the late update…or shall we say, extremely late update? School has been catching up to me lately. On top of that, I have been depressed ever since the finale. Zuko sides with Azula over Iroh?! I cried. And so, every time I went to write this I was so built up with suspense as to what is going to happen and so angry at Azula's manipulation of Zuko that I couldn't do it. You want to know my theory? The Blue Spirit revive, saves Iroh and takes over Ba Sing Se. Yeah…I love Zuko. Anyways, I won't bore you with my insanity. Thanks to everyone who reviewed and thank you for staying with me. I love you guys! Give yourself a big applause and please continue your great reviews! Now, without much ado, I give you Chapter 9!_

_**Disclaimer:** Neither Avatar: the Last Airbender (or Avatar: the Legend of Aang, as they call it in Britain) nor any of the characters in it belong to me…twitch._

Ψ

_…With you by my side I will fight and defend._

_I'll fight and defend…_

_Keep holding on_

_'Cause you know we'll make it through_

_We'll make it through…_

_Just stay strong_

- "_Keep Holding On"_ Avril Lavigne

Ψ

Chapter IX: The Fury of the Wind

"I DEMAND A TRIAL! NOW! IS THIS HOW EARTH KINGDOM JUSTICE WORKS? IS THERE NO ONE WHO PRESERVES THE NOBLE AND JUST WAYS OF THE EARTH KINGDOM? HAS IT FALLEN SO LOW?"

Zuko winced at Tienayu's outraged screams, concentrating instead on vibrations he felt on the floor. She had been screaming like that for what seemed like hours. And he couldn't deny that the constant flow of loud taunts was starting to irritate him. He shut his eyes and pushed his ear harder against the concrete floor, trying to catch even the smallest of vibrations. If he had calculated right they had been jailed in the cell for a day and a half. With no food or drink. Not that he minded in the least, he thought bitterly; he had become accustomed to receiving nourishment only once in a while. However, Tienayu had withstood the lack of food, something he had not thought she would be capable of, with her small graceful frame. But he had once again misjudged her. She hadn't once commented on the lack of food.

And yet, she was the most impatient person he had ever met.

"WHERE ARE YOU? HAVE YOU NO CHARGE TO PRESS AGAINST US? IS THAT WHY YOU HIDE FROM US?"

There it was. The large vibrations that could only be the sure footsteps of an earthbender.

"They're coming," Zuko spoke up, softly.

Tienayu meet his eyes and grinned, "Then let the show begin."

She stepped away from the door, and Zuko rose uneasily to his feet, his amber eyes fixed on the earth slab.

There was a grunt of concentration and the slab slid open with a resounding crash, dust rising between the exit and the cell.

It would be too easy. Zuko closed his hands into fists. It would be too easy for him to sweep the Earthbender's feet from under him under the cover of the dust. It would be too easy to take flight down the hall and escape. It would be too easy.

Zuko's eyes were lost in the rising dust.

He hadn't voice the thought aloud, but it had been playing in his mind, in the infinite dark of the cell. There were posters of his face in every Fire Nation occupied town. And in the Earth Kingdom his face must be well know, as he was the heir to the throne of Fire Lord. They would recognize him at court. They would see his scar. And he would be caught. He would be disgraced. He would never be able to regain his honor, his birthright, his country, his home.

Yet something stopped him from escaping into the dust.

Someone.

It was her eyes. Those wide eyes that betrayed so much, and yet so little.

No one had ever stood beside him. No one had ever wanted the company of Prince Zuko. And yet there she was, standing proudly beside him, a small flickering smile on her lip. She hadn't run. And he doubted it was because she couldn't. She was waiting for the window when they could both escape. Leaving no one behind.

The dust began to clear, revealing the enormous figure of the powerful bender, his stance set, his arms stilling the earth.

And Zuko let himself be taken away, let himself be roughly pushed forward.

He didn't run.

_The boy stood uneasily on the iron coated deck of the ship, his white knuckles wrapped tightly around the rail. The sea was calm all around, as far as the eyes could see, and yet the golden eyed boy struggled to cover his great discomfort. A slight breeze traveled across the deck, and the black haired boy suddenly felt caught. He shook his head, trying to clear the caged sensation that had run through him. _

"_Well, Zuzu? Enjoying the open sea?" a black clothed girl pranced over to the boy, the glint in her eyes leaving no doubt she had noticed the boy's unease. _

_The boy frowned, "Don't call me that, Azula."_

_A laugh that held no mirth at all escaped the girl's thin red lips, "You don't seem too comfortable, dearest brother. Could you possibly be…afraid?"_

_The black haired boy released his iron grip on the rail, fighting to stand up straight despite the way his legs swayed unsteadily, "No, I am not," he voiced firmly. _

_His sister's inhuman smile just widened as she stepped closer to him, her face halting merely inches away from his._

"_Oh, really? Are you saying you are not afraid of the fact that only a few boards of metal are standing between you and a most slow and torturous death?" her voice dropped down to a frightening hiss, "Or is it that what you are really afraid of is not the sea, but this small boat, caging you and giving you no where to run?"_

_With that said the girl offered her brother a sickeningly sweet smile and sauntered away. The wind, now stronger, sweep through the ship, the great vessel groaning in response. The boy looked around him, feeling as the black boat constricted around him, catching him in the middle. _

_Giving him no where to run. _

There was no way out.

It was the first thing he noticed as he walked into the large dome of the open courtroom. There were no doors. There were no windows; the only light streamed in from the glass at the tip of the high reaching dome.

They were trapped.

The many richly dressed men analyzed him darkly as he was pushed down the long alley. Subconsciously, Zuko straightened his shoulders and lifted his head high, glaring at the men as he walked by. He would not let a bunch of petty earthbending aristocrats think he, the Fire Prince, heir to the throne of the Fire Nation, would go easy. The earthbender pushed him roughly into one of the two seats that stood before the tall marble podium. The dais glittered oddly as the sunlight streamed in from the roof and hit the smooth surface. A hush then fell over the large court room as all the men stood up and bowed low as the judge entered through a grand door. The door closed soundly behind the formidable looking old man, shutting out all thoughts of escape. Zuko's eyes caught Tienayu's.

There was no way out.

A large gavel fell on the marble podium.

"All welcome Judge Tao Shun from the Earth Capital of Ba Sing Se!"

The old man nodded his greeting to the courtroom, setting his bifocals carefully on the bridge of this nose. Only after slightly clearing his throat and shuffling through the scrolls on his podium did he begin.

"All honorable members of the town of Na Me Sin of the noble Earth Kingdom," his voice projected through the room, echoing off the walls, "have gathered here to preside over the trial of two unnamed fugitives accused with the high crime of Ying Mi's murder."

Zuko felt sudden anger burst through him at the untrue accusation. These kind of things only seemed to happen to him. He was tired of taking it all. He was tired of doing nothing. He was tired of running. The exiled Fire Prince rose to his feet, his back straight as he faced the small old man perched at the top of the podium.

"I would think that a judge so highly placed would not fall so low as to wrongfully accuse the innocent with no proof," Zuko's voice rang through the silent court.

Tao Shun took off his bifocals and peered down.

"I guess I was wrong," the firebender finished coldly.

Zuko thought he saw Tienayu crack a small smile at his words. The court rose with a great roar around him and Zuko could not help a smirk from settling on his features. Tao Shun seemed stunned at the firebender's audacity, but immediately brought his gavel down on the hard marble of his podium.

"Order!" he roared, his voice not proportionate to his small size.

The many men in the court sat down, still huffing with indignation.

Tao Shun rearranged his bifocals on his sharp nose and then leaned over the white marble podium. His beady black eyes analyzed Zuko carefully, lingering on his angry scar. The Fire Prince fought the urge to cover the mark on his face, hide his identity. But he didn't. His fiery golden eyes stared right back at the judge, challenging him to speak.

Finally, the high judge spoke, "Anything the accused say in this court can and will be used against them. Keep your silence unless you wish to present a case to the court."

He turned firmly to the large earthbender that stood guard over the door, "Bring in the first witness."

_A small boy crept through a door, sliding it shut safely behind him. He looked around quickly with his amber eyes and once satisfied that there was no one he sprinted through the gardens. The scenery changed quickly, the cheery trees clearing and allowing for only the expanse of green grass that stood at the zenith of the hill. Expelling a breath he had been holding inside him all along he crossed his legs and sat down. _

_The beautiful sunset stretched out before him, the powerful sun dipping slowly into the tranquil waves of the endless horizon. Colors mixed together to form a turbulent palette of red, orange, purple and pink. A cold breeze wrapped its arms around the dark haired boy, causing him to shiver. The sun fell lower as the ink black of Night's cloak advanced across the wide sky. The boy looked warily at the growing darkness, loneliness and something like fear flickering behind his eyes. But he quickly turned his gaze to the burning sun once more. He had learned from a young age to look at the sunset with the hope of a sunrise. For there could not be one without the other._

"It is them," the sharp faced man assured the judge, his finger pointing unwavering at the two.

Zuko bit back an angry retort and merely sat in his seat, his golden eyes melting the man with their intensity. Yet, his mind was working rapidly, for as soon as the man had entered the court he had recognized the sharp features, the deluded self-confident gaze, the uniform belonging to the Earth Kingdom renegade army. He had seen him before.

And the man had seen him as well.

For a moment Zuko had thought of the previous owner of the long broadswords he had carried, and a flash of trepidation had run through him at the thought that the Blue Spirit had been recognized. But he knew that to be false. No one had seen the Blue Spirit.

Except…the kid…the Avatar.

Then he heard the gasp beside him.

Tienayu's eyes were wide and innocently blue as she took in the smirking man, and the young firebender could tell that she knew who he was. She turned her gaze to Zuko's, but he noticed that she was hesitant to meet his eyes, almost as if she were hiding something, almost as if she were analyzing him for something.

Tienayu stood up, her face set in a determined frown.

"Yuito, how nice to see you again. Up to another friendly game? Maybe this time you wont be such a sore loser," her voice was strong and cold.

A murmur ran through the jury and audience, their sound combining to a rumble. Zuko smirked, though there was nothing lightly humorous on his lips. The exiled prince let the many forms of painful death he could think for Yuito flitter through his mind, not even pausing to think about them, for really he didn't think Yuito needed punishment. Being born such an idiot was probably enough.

Yuito let his narrow eyes shift to the Judge's old face, trying to discern the expression they held. It seemed that he found something reassuring for he relaxed and turned once more to face the now standing Tienayu and the analytical Zuko.

"Pardon, I do not believe you have ever met me. My name is Taroi," Yuito spoke up smoothly, a flicker of a smirk running across his features.

Zuko didn't couldn't hold back a snort of derision at those pompous and deceitful words.

Yuito instantly turned his gaze to the exiled Prince, "What do you find so funny? Do you not know anything of respect so as to keep silent?"

The last question echoed inside Zuko's head, turning over, evolving, bringing back pictures and words that he had hidden inside the deepest recesses of his soul. His breathing suddenly became labored and his amber eyes burned with fire and pain.

"_By speaking in the Fire Lord's war room you have disrespected the Fire Lord."_

_The young man hadn't known. All he had wanted was to defend his people, to be a better leader, to make his father proud._

Respect.

Silence.

_The cold voice held no compassion, "You will learn respect, and suffering will be your teacher."_

_And then he was drowning in his own screams._

Zuko moved quickly. In one smooth move he was no longer in his seat but before Yuito, his amber eyes flashing in anger as he tried to bury the pain inside him. His scar seemed to tingle slightly, as if remembering the angry fire of what seemed so long ago.

"You know nothing of respect," Zuko whispered coldly, his hands tight into fists.

Yuito was afraid, that the firebender could see. But he could also sense why. He must look like his father. Like his father on that day.

No mercy in his eyes.

"_Please, Father, I only had the Fire Nation's best interests at heart. I'm sorry I spoke out of turn!" the boy rushed to explain, falling to his knees, his wide golden eyes shaking at the ground._

_The man did not listen to his son's words. He strode heavily towards the young boy, his voice a cold detached sneer, "You will fight for your honor."_

_The black haired boy refused to rise, his voice becoming more urgent as the man's undeterred steps grew nearer to him, "I meant you no disrespect! I am your loyal son."_

"_Rise and fight, Prince Zuko," the man growled._

_But the boy would not rise. The boy would not fight his father. The boy had only wanted to make his father proud of him. Him, the son he had never loved. _

"_I won't fight you."_

_The father didn't care._

Zuko backed away from Yuito. The memories where enveloping, constricting him into darkness. Zuko was falling. Falling into his nightmares. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't see. His eyes were fixed on the jet of fire that had come from his father, the fire that would end his life as it had been. The fire that would take everything he had and burn it until it was no longer.

But he would not give in to his memories.

The court room had risen at the young man's outburst, strangely silent as compared to before as they observed the steely young man, his back straight and his eyes calm as he stood at before the witness and did nothing.

The silence reined. The calm breathing of the firebender creating a heart beat.

Then Zuko felt a light hand on his shoulder. Startled he turned to Tienayu and found her blue eyes. There was no veil, no hidden emotions. For a moment he saw her as she was, and what he saw was reflected in his own aching soul. There was pain, unbearable pain that stemmed from a past that could no be changed. And remembering brought it back from where they had hidden it. For once, as they looked at each other they could see past the unending facades, they could see into each other. And what they saw they could reflect.

She was going to reveal her past. She was going to revive those shadows and she wanted him to know her before she did.

Zuko was frozen into place by her eyes.

Unable to look away.

Unable to stop her.

"_From what did you run?"_

"_Myself."_

She gave him a slight smile.

"Sorry to leave all of you," she spoke out, turning to address the assembly, bowing in respect to the judge, "but I think my companion and I have had enough of this conversation. We haven't killed anyone, so you might as well look for the real culprit and not spend useless amounts of time trying to convict us."

Then she swung her arms around her, the air currents bending to her whim as she worked them around Zuko and her, creating a spinning vortex of wind. A strong gust of air pushed them both up, remaining still in the eyes of the spinning storm. Through the small window on the roof and out.

Out into the night.

Ψ

_**Survey:** I can't help but smile at the revelation of Tienayu's bending. Air. Kudos to the people who guessed! Please, do tell me what you think of this. To exit this page, simply press the GO button on the lower left and leave a small message about anything that strikes your fancy. Have a great day!_

AneleTiger.


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